鳴り響く

• Reading: なりひびく
• Romaji: narihibiku
• Kanji breakdown: 鳴 (mei/na) — sound, ring; 響 (kyō/hibi) — reverberate, echo
• Pronunciation: /na.ɾi.çi.bi.kɯ/

Meaning

To resound; to reverberate; to ring out powerfully and fill a space with sound.

A Group 1 (godan) compound verb combining 鳴る (to sound, to ring) and 響く (to reverberate, to echo). The combined form emphasises sound that is not just heard but felt — it fills the entire space and continues to echo. Used for bells, alarms, applause, explosions, or any sound that dominates its environment. The word often carries a sense of dramatic resonance, and appears frequently in literary or formal descriptive writing.

Examples

1. 除夜の鐘が静かな冬の夜に鳴り響き、新年の始まりを告げた。 The New Year's Eve bell rang out into the quiet winter night, heralding the start of the new year.
2. スタジアム全体に鳴り響く大歓声を受けて、選手たちは感涙にむせんだ。 Moved to tears by the thunderous cheering that reverberated throughout the stadium, the athletes were overwhelmed with emotion.
3. 警報が鳴り響くなか、住民たちは速やかに避難場所へと移動した。 With alarms reverberating all around, residents moved swiftly to the designated evacuation point.

Usage Guide

Context: events, literature, emergency, music

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

A compound of 鳴る (to make sound, from Old Japanese naru) and 響く (to resound, from hibiku). Both roots appear in classical literature, and their combination has been used since at least the medieval period to describe sounds of great presence and reach.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical to Contemporary

Generation: All ages

Social background: General