大发雷霆 (dà fā léi tíng) — to fly into a rage; to be furious

Definition

A vivid set phrase meaning 'to explode in rage'. It is a chengyu-style expression — more literary and emphatic than plain 发脾气 ('get angry').

verb

to fly into a rageto be furious

，大发雷霆。
Lǎo bǎn dé zhī xiàng mù shī bài hòu, dāng chǎng dà fā léi tíng.
The boss flew into a rage on the spot after learning the project had failed.
大发雷霆，。
Tā yīn wèi hái zi sā huǎng ér dà fā léi tíng, xùn chì le zhěng zhěng yí gè xiǎo shí.
He was furious because his child lied, and scolded him for a full hour.
，大发雷霆，。
Miàn duì xià shǔ de shī wù, jīng lǐ méi yǒu dà fā léi tíng, ér shì nài xīn zhǐ dǎo.
Faced with a subordinate's mistake, the manager didn't fly into a rage but patiently guided him.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

雨雨yǔrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

畾

畾léi雷léi

Same sound today

The top 雨 (rain) points to the meaning, and the bottom 畾 gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

雨廷霆

Meaning part形符xíngfú

雨雨yǔrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

廷

Same sound today

霆 is built from 雨 (rain) above 廷, which supplies the sound; the rain part points to the meaning of thunder.

Appears in