雷

音読おんよみ: ライ

訓読くんよみ: かみなり

画数かくすう: 13

部首ぶしゅ: ⻗（あめかんむり）

Meaning

Thunder / Lightning / Storm

  • 雷かみなり — thunder / lightning
  • 雷雨らいう — thunderstorm
  • 雷鳴らいめい — thunderclap / peal of thunder
  • 落雷らくらい — lightning strike / being hit by lightning
  • 雷管らいかん — blasting cap / detonator

雷 has the rain radical ⻗ on top, telling us it’s weather in the sky, and the bottom part suggests sound. The core image is a loud, violent storm: lightning, thunder, shock. In modern Japanese, かみなり can also mean “a scolding,” like getting thunder from a parent or boss.

雨

雷 comes from 雨 — rain from the sky — plus explosive noise. Think: heavy rain clouds build up charge, then crack, the sky shouts. That’s why 雷 means both lightning and thunder in Japanese.

落
Creates

落雷らくらい — lightning strike / being hit by lightning

◀︎ Sayings+ ▶︎