Dictionary › 雷

雷

léi

HSK 5 Character

What 雷 means

1. thunder
2. bound formmilitarymine, as in {地雷|dì léi} land mine
3. colloquialto shock; to stun; to astound
4. Taiwancolloquialspoiler
5. Taiwancolloquialto reveal plot details to (sb)

Other readings

雷 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• Léisurname Lei

Example sentences

• 电闪雷鸣。
  There is lightning.
• 我被雷劈了。
  Wǒ bèi léi pī le.
  I was struck by lightning.
• 树高遭雷击。
  The taller the tree, the more likely it is to be struck by lightning.
• 准备发射鱼雷。
  Prepare to launch torpedoes.
• 来自格雷的情书？
  Láizì Géléi de qíngshū?
  A love letter from Gray?
• 雷声吓到孩子了。
  Léishēng xià dào háizi le.
  The thunder scared the children.

Words starting with 雷

• 雷达léi dá(loanword) radar
• 雷锋Léi FēngLei Feng (1940–1962), a soldier celebrated by the Chinese government from 1963 onward as…
• 雷鸣léi míngthunder rolls
• 雷雨léi yǔthunderstorm
• 雷同léi tóngmirroring others; identical
• 雷声léi shēngthunder
• 雷电léi diànthunder and lightning
• 雷霆léi tíngsound of thunder
• 雷击léi jīlightning strike; thunderbolt
• 雷厉风行léi lì fēng xíngpass like thunder and move like the wind (idiom); swift and decisive reaction
• 雷打不动léi dǎ bù dòngnot shaken by thunder (idiom); the arrangements are unalterable…
• 雷恩Léi ēnRennes
• 雷神léi shéngod of thunder (Chinese Leigong 雷公
• 雷管léi guǎndetonator; fuse
• 雷公Léi gōngLei Gong or Duke of Thunder, the God of Thunder in Chinese mythology
• 雷诺阿Léi nuò āPierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919), French Impressionist painter
• 雷阵雨léi zhèn yǔthundershower
• 雷人léi rén(net slang) shocking; appalling; terrifying
• 雷区léi qūminefield (lit. and fig.)
• 雷子léi zi(slang) cop
• 雷德Léi déClark T. Randt Jr. (1945-), US ambassador to Beijing 2001-2009
• 雷暴léi bàothunderstorm
• 雷根Léi gēnTaiwan equivalent of 里根
• 雷亚尔léi yà ěrreal (Brazilian currency) (loanword)

Words containing 雷

• 格雷Gé léiGrey; Gray
• 弗雷Fú léiFreyr (god in Norse mythology)
• 地雷dì léiland mine; (fig.) sore point; weak spot
• 布雷bù léito lay mines
• 打雷dǎ léito rumble with thunder; clap of thunder
• 大发雷霆dà fā léi tíngto be furious; to fly into a terrible rage
• 暴跳如雷bào tiào rú léi(idiom) to stamp with fury; to fly into a rage
• 鱼雷yú léitorpedo
• 惊雷jīng léisudden clap of thunder; fig. surprising turn of events
• 掌声雷动zhǎng shēng léi dòngthunderous applause (idiom)
• 如雷贯耳rú léi guàn ěrlit. like thunder piercing the ear; a well-known reputation (idiom)
• 大雷dà léi(slang) large breasts
• 手雷shǒu léigrenade
• 排雷pái léi(military) to clear landmines; (fig.) (slang) to give people a heads-up…
• 暴雷bào léithunderclap; (of a P2P lending platform) to collapse
• 水雷shuǐ léinaval mine
• 响雷xiǎng léito be thundering; thunder clap
• 哈拉雷Hā lā léiHarare, capital of Zimbabwe
• 核地雷hé dì léinuclear land mine; nuclear mine
• 落雷luò léilightning bolt; lightning strike
• 光学雷达guāng xué léi dálidar
• 图阿雷格Tú ā léi géTuareg (nomadic people of the Sahara)
• 布雷斯特Bù léi sī tèBrest, westernmost town in France
• 阿德雷德Ā dé léi déAdelaide, capital of South Australia; also written 阿德莱德

Characters built on 田

These share the phonetic component 田 (tián), which is why their readings rhyme. Learning them as a family is far cheaper than learning them one at a time.

• 备bèi(bound form) to prepare; to equip; (literary) fully; completely
• 累lèitired; weary; to strain
• 畏wèito fear
• 胃wèistomach

Characters that look like 雷

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 需xūto require; to need; to want
• 富fùrich; abundant; wealthy
• 曾céngonce; already; ever (in the past)
• 蜜mìhoney
• 窖jiàocellar; to store in a cellar
• 雹báohail

Sounds the same

Read léi, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 擂to pound (with a mortar and pestle); to hit (a person); to beat (a drum)…
• 累rope; to bind together; to twist around
• 镭radium (chemistry)
• 羸entangled; lean
• 罍large earthenware wine jar
• 缧(literary) thick rope used to restrain a prisoner
• 攂to beat (old variant of 擂
• 樏(archaic) simple sedan chair for traveling in the mountains…
• 檑logs rolled down in defense of city
• 欙sedan
• 畾fields divided by dikes
• 礌used in 礌石; Taiwan pr. lèi