闪电

• Pinyin: shǎn diàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 闪 = 门 (door) + 人 (person) — flash; 电 = simplified from 電, originally depicting lightning — electricity

Meaning

Lightning. The flash of light produced during a thunderstorm.

Literally 'flash electricity'. Used literally for the weather phenomenon and figuratively for extreme speed — 闪电战 (blitzkrieg), 闪电般的速度 (lightning speed). Often paired with 打雷 (thunder) when describing storms.

Examples

1. 一道闪电划过天空，紧接着是一声巨响。 A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, followed immediately by a loud boom.
2. 小时候我非常害怕闪电和打雷。 As a child, I was very afraid of lightning and thunder.
3. 那个快递员的速度简直像闪电一样。 That courier's speed is practically like lightning.

Usage Guide

Context: weather, everyday, figurative speed

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 刚才的闪电你看到了吗？(Did you see the lightning just now?)
• 他以闪电般的速度完成了任务。(He completed the task at lightning speed.)

Don't Say

• 今天有很多闪电打下来了 (Lightning flashes across the sky, it does not 打下来 — say 今天闪电很多 or 打了很多闪电)

Origin & History

Compound of 闪 (flash) and 电 (electricity) — a flash of electrical discharge in the sky.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal