暴跳如雷 (bào tiào rú léi) — (idiom) to fly into a violent rage; to stamp wi… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

An idiom describing extreme, explosive rage — stronger than just 'angry.' Always used for people losing their temper, not for describing a situation.

idiom

to fly into a violent rageto stamp with fury

Examples

，暴跳如雷。
Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā qì dé bào tiào rú léi.
Hearing the news, he was so angry that he flew into a violent rage.
暴跳如雷。
Lǎo bǎn zài huì yì shàng bào tiào rú léi dì pī píng le suǒ yǒu rén.
The boss furiously criticized everyone at the meeting.
暴跳如雷。
Qiú mí men yīn wèi shū qiú ér bào tiào rú léi.
The fans went into a rage because their team lost.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

暴跳jump violently

暴bàoviolent跳tiàojump

偏正Modifier + head

如雷like thunder

如rúlike雷léithunder

动宾Verb + object

暴跳, jumping violently, is likened to 雷, thunder, showing rage.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

虎虎hǔtiger
戈戈gēweapon

The earliest form paired 虎 and 戈, a tiger and a weapon. The later 暴 came from a picture of hands drying something in the sun.

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

足足zúfoot

Sound part声符shēngfú

兆

兆zhào跳tiào

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

跳 pairs 足 (foot) with 兆, which supplies the sound; the foot part shows the action is done with the feet.

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

女口如

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

女

女nǚ如rú

Same sound today

如 is built from 口 (mouth) for its meaning and 女 (woman) for its sound.

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.

Appears in

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