雷雨 (léi yǔ) — thunderstorm | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

thunderstorm

Measure word · 场

Examples

雷雨。
Jīn wǎn kě néng huì yǒu léi yǔ.
There might be a thunderstorm tonight.
雷雨，。
léi yǔ Guò hòu, kōng qì biàn de hěn qīng xīn.
After the thunderstorm, the air became very fresh.
雷雨。
Yì chǎng dà léi yǔ bǎ shù dōu guā dǎo le.
A big thunderstorm blew down all the trees.

Origin

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.

雷léithunder

Thunder and rain combine to name a storm where rain falls with thunder.

Characters in this word

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.

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

The shape 雨 is an old picture of a cloud with rain drops falling from it; the top line was added later.

Appears in

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