<p>打雷 is the best for describing action.<br>
現在外面正在打雷 There's thunder outside right now</p>

<p>雷聲 is also good for describing what you hear<br>
我剛被雷聲嚇到 I was surprised (shocked) by the sound of the thunder</p>

<p>雷 by itself means thunder, and used a little less often<br>
but it also means bomb as in 地雷.<br>
這家店有雷. This store is a bomb. (When joking to friends that this food store sucks and is like stepping on a bomb/mine)</p>

<p>You could say, 外面有雷 There is thunder outside<br>
But it would sound awkward, the common phrase would be, 外面正在打雷</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-02T13:36:25.873Z
2016-09-02T13:57:15.230Z
2016-09-02T13:57:15.230Z
辛祐賦 hsinyofu
<blockquote>
  <p>Which of these three words should I use most of the time for "thunder"?</p>
</blockquote>

<p><strong>行雷/打雷</strong> is the most common term for " thunder"( v with no obj) [<em>it thunders</em>]</p>

<p>雷 (n) thunder </p>

<p>雷電 common term for " thunder and lightning " (n)</p>

<p><strong>行雷/打雷</strong> verb with no object for " thunder" : [<em>it thunders</em>]</p>

<p>行雷閃電 - common phrase for " thundering and lightning"(v- no obj)</p>

<p>雷聲 = sound of thunder; 雷響 = booming of thunder; 雷嗚 = roar of thunder</p>

<p>Example sentences:</p>

<ul>
<li>看見閃電之後數秒才聽到<strong>行雷/打雷</strong> - a few seconds after seeing  lightning, you'll hear <strong>thunder</strong></li>
<li>看見閃電之後數秒才聽到<strong>雷聲</strong> - a few seconds after seeing  lightning, you'll hear the <strong>sound of thunder</strong></li>
<li><p>看見閃電之後數秒才聽到<strong>雷響</strong> - a few seconds after seeing  lightning, you'll hear the <strong>booming of thunder</strong></p></li>
<li><p>電閃後必有<strong>雷嗚</strong> - after  flash of lightning,  <strong>roar of thunder</strong> will come</p></li>
</ul>

<p><em>雷嗚 is mostly used in poetic sense</em></p>

<p><em>It might sounds strange, for "lighting strike", 雷轟, 雷擊, 雷打 or 雷劈 is more popular than 電擊 or 電殛; meanwhile 電殛 also means "electrocute"</em> </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-02T17:08:00.530Z
Just some tips on your English translations. We don't really say "it thunders" in the same way we say "it rains" or "it snows". Maybe some people do. I don't know if we really say "roar" either though it's perfect for the sound. For thunder we say "crash". I edited some other stuff for you. Great answer - thanks!
hippietrail
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-02T18:14:29.630Z
" [it thunders]  was not in any speech, it was from the dictionary just to illustrate thunder as a verb
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-02T22:33:36.333Z
行雷 is more like Cantonese
Ziyuan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-02T13:56:11.387Z
2016-09-02T20:30:06.007Z
2016-09-02T20:30:06.007Z
Tang Ho
<p>There's a huge thunderstorm here in Kaohsiung right now so I thought I would learn the word for "thunder".</p>

<p>I can find three words in the dictionary and wonder which I should use for everybody to understand me:</p>

<ul>
<li>雷 léi</li>
<li>雷聲 léishēng</li>
<li>雷鳴 léimíng</li>
</ul>

<p>I know often single-character words are technically correct but not usually used on their own. But also quite a few are, such as 雨.</p>

<p>Also some words are poetic or technical or archaic or dialectal, etc.</p>

<p>Which of these three words should I use most of the time for "thunder"?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-02T13:26:07.583Z
Good question, and how to distinguish between thunder and lightning in Chinese. I guess 打雷 is best for thunder (although I feel like it could just as easily meaning lightning).
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-02T19:00:47.890Z
*"how to distinguish between thunder and lightning in Chinese"* we know the fact that we "看見閃電 (see lighting)" and "聽到行雷(hear thunder)"
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-06T21:39:57.170Z
Just an advice: if you don't know which one is more used, type it on Baidu or Google and see which one returns the most results.
Enrico Brasil
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-07T03:22:37.493Z
@EnricoBrasil: This method is good unless one of the options is a single character in which case it always gets more hits whether or not it's much used as a word on its own or mostly in compounds.
hippietrail
<word-choice><mandarin><synonyms>
雷 vs 雷聲 vs 雷鳴 for "thunder", which is most common?
# 雷 vs 雷聲 vs 雷鳴 for "thunder", which is most common?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-09-02)

There's a huge thunderstorm here in Kaohsiung right now so I thought I would learn the word for "thunder".

I can find three words in the dictionary and wonder which I should use for everybody to understand me:

* 雷 léi
* 雷聲 léishēng
* 雷鳴 léimíng

I know often single-character words are technically correct but not usually used on their own. But also quite a few are, such as 雨.

Also some words are poetic or technical or archaic or dialectal, etc.

Which of these three words should I use most of the time for "thunder"?

**Tags:** word-choice, mandarin, synonyms

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Good question, and how to distinguish between thunder and lightning in Chinese. I guess 打雷 is best for thunder (although I feel like it could just as easily meaning lightning).  
> **username_2**: *"how to distinguish between thunder and lightning in Chinese"* we know the fact that we "看見閃電 (see lighting)" and "聽到行雷(hear thunder)"  
> **username_3**: Just an advice: if you don't know which one is more used, type it on Baidu or Google and see which one returns the most results.  
> **username_0**: @username_3: This method is good unless one of the options is a single character in which case it always gets more hits whether or not it's much used as a word on its own or mostly in compounds.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2016-09-02. Score: 2

打雷 is the best for describing action.  
現在外面正在打雷 There's thunder outside right now

雷聲 is also good for describing what you hear  
我剛被雷聲嚇到 I was surprised (shocked) by the sound of the thunder

雷 by itself means thunder, and used a little less often  
but it also means bomb as in 地雷.  
這家店有雷. This store is a bomb. (When joking to friends that this food store sucks and is like stepping on a bomb/mine)

You could say, 外面有雷 There is thunder outside  
But it would sound awkward, the common phrase would be, 外面正在打雷


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-09-02. Score: 1

> Which of these three words should I use most of the time for "thunder"?

**行雷/打雷** is the most common term for " thunder"( v with no obj) [*it thunders*]

雷 (n) thunder

雷電 common term for " thunder and lightning " (n)

**行雷/打雷** verb with no object for " thunder" : [*it thunders*]

行雷閃電 - common phrase for " thundering and lightning"(v- no obj)

雷聲 = sound of thunder; 雷響 = booming of thunder; 雷嗚 = roar of thunder

Example sentences:

* 看見閃電之後數秒才聽到**行雷/打雷** - a few seconds after seeing lightning, you'll hear **thunder**
* 看見閃電之後數秒才聽到**雷聲** - a few seconds after seeing lightning, you'll hear the **sound of thunder**
* 看見閃電之後數秒才聽到**雷響** - a few seconds after seeing lightning, you'll hear the **booming of thunder**
* 電閃後必有**雷嗚** - after flash of lightning, **roar of thunder** will come

*雷嗚 is mostly used in poetic sense*

*It might sounds strange, for "lighting strike", 雷轟, 雷擊, 雷打 or 雷劈 is more popular than 電擊 or 電殛; meanwhile 電殛 also means "electrocute"*

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Just some tips on your English translations. We don't really say "it thunders" in the same way we say "it rains" or "it snows". Maybe some people do. I don't know if we really say "roar" either though it's perfect for the sound. For thunder we say "crash". I edited some other stuff for you. Great answer - thanks!  
> **username_2**: " [it thunders]  was not in any speech, it was from the dictionary just to illustrate thunder as a verb  
> **username_5**: 行雷 is more like Cantonese  

---

