How to Write 雷 (léi) — Meaning “Thunder”

Picture rain falling on a field (田), and then imagine a loud thunderclap shaking the ground. The top 雨 reminds you of rain, and the field below helps you recall the character for thunder.

The top radical 雨 should be wide enough to cover the 田 underneath; the horizontal stroke in 雨 must be long. A common mistake is making the 田 too large or not centered, which breaks the balanced shape.

雩 (yú) is a rare character meaning "praying for rain," while 雪 (xuě) means "snow." All three share the 雨 radical, but 雷 has 田 below, 雪 has 彐, and 雩 has 于. Their meanings are completely different: thunder, snow, and rain prayer.

雷 appears in weather words like 打雷 (to thunder) and 雷雨 (thunderstorm), and also in 地雷 (landmine) and 雷达 (radar). In Chinese internet slang, 雷 can mean "shocking" or "astonishing," as in 雷人 (a shocking person).

Common words containing 雷 include: 打雷 (dǎ léi) — to thunder; 雷雨 (léi yǔ) — Thunderstorm; 地雷 (dì léi) — Landmine.