How to Write 砰 (pēng) — Meaning “bang / thud”

Imagine throwing a flat stone (石) onto a flat surface (平) and hearing a loud "PENG!" sound. The character visually shows the stone hitting the flat ground, making the sound it represents.

The left radical 石 should be narrow, taking about one-third of the character's width. For the right part 平, first write the top horizontal line, then the two dots, and finally the vertical stroke; a common mistake is making the two dots too large or misaligned.

砰 (pēng) means a bang sound, while 矸 (gān) refers to a type of waste rock and 矻 (kū) means to toil hard. Visually, 砰 has 平 on the right, 矸 has 干, and 矻 has 乞, so their right parts look completely different. Only 砰 is used for onomatopoeia.

砰 is used to describe sudden loud noises, like a door slamming (砰的一声) or a heartbeat (心跳砰砰). It appears often in comics, informal writing, and sound effects. Culturally, it is part of Chinese onomatopoeia that vividly mimics real sounds.

Common words containing 砰 include: 砰砰 (pēng pēng) — bang bang / thump thump; 砰的一声 (pēng de yī shēng) — with a bang; 砰然 (pēng rán) — with a bang / thumping.