如雷贯耳 (rú léi guàn ěr) — (idiom) to be famous far and wide; one's reputation precedes one

Definition

A chengyu (idiom) meaning 'reputation like thunder piercing the ear' — used to praise someone whose fame is huge and well known. Often appears in formal or complimentary contexts, as in 您的大名如雷贯耳 ('Your name is famously known to me').

idiom
to be famous far and wideone's reputation precedes one

Examples

  • 如雷贯耳，。
    Nín de dà míng rú léi guàn ěr, jīn tiān zhōng yú jiàn dào nín le.
    Your reputation precedes you—I'm finally meeting you today.
  • 如雷贯耳，。
    Zhè wèi zuò jiā de zuò pǐn rú léi guàn ěr, wǒ zǎo jiù xiǎng dú yi dú.
    This writer's works are extremely famous—I've wanted to read them for a long time.
  • 如雷贯耳，。
    Guì gōng sī de shēng yù rú léi guàn ěr, wǒ men hěn róng xìng néng yǔ nín hé zuò.
    Your company's reputation is outstanding—we are honored to cooperate with you.

Origin

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
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.

Open 如 →

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.

Open 雷 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 貫; 贯 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 貫 originally showed two shells strung together; the simplified 贯 is a later abbreviation.

Open 贯 →

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

耳 is drawn as a picture of an ear.

Open 耳 →

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