闪电 (shǎn diàn) — lightning | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

闪 means a quick flash; 电 is electricity in general. 闪电 names the flash in the sky during a storm, measured with 道. (Thunders separately: 雷声.)

noun

lightning

Measure word · 道

闪电。
Zuó tiān wǎn shàng kàn jiàn le jǐ dào shǎn diàn.
I saw several flashes of lightning last night.
闪电，，。
Yīn wèi shǎn diàn de sù dù bǐ shēng yīn kuài, suǒ yǐ wǒ men xiān kàn dào tā, zài tīng dào léi shēng.
Because lightning is faster than sound, we see it first and then hear the thunder.
闪电。
Xià tiān de bào fēng yǔ cháng cháng bàn suí zhe shǎn diàn hé léi shēng.
Summer storms are often accompanied by lightning and thunder.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

电diànelectricity

The 闪 gives the sudden flash, and the 电 gives the electric light.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 閃; 闪 is its simplified writing.

門人閃

In the traditional 閃, 人 (person) appears inside 門 (gate), showing a person running through a gate. The simplified 闪 is a later shorthand.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 電; 电 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

雨雨yǔrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

申

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

For the traditional form 電, 雨 (rain) sits with 申, read shēn and meaning lightning.

Appears in