雷鳴（らいめい、raimeい）
- thunder

The Japanese word 雷鳴 (らいめい) refers to the sound of thunder, specifically the booming or rumbling noise produced by lightning. It represents the auditory experience of a thunderstorm. The word emphasizes the sound itself rather than the visual aspect of lightning. The word evokes a sense of power, drama, and sometimes even fear, depending on the intensity of the [雷鳴] itself. It's the "sound" part of a thunderstorm.

⚫︎激しい雷鳴が聞こえた。 Translation: I heard a loud clap of thunder. ⚫︎遠くで雷鳴が響いている。 Translation: Thunder is rumbling in the distance. ⚫︎雷鳴雷鳴とどろく嵐の中、彼は家を出た。 Translation: He went out in a storm with roaring thunder.

You use 雷鳴 to describe the sound of thunder. It's often used in descriptive writing or conversation when someone wants to highlight the auditory impact of a storm. You would use this word when talking about the noise itself, not just the presence of lightning. It's suitable for situations where you want to emphasize the power or intensity of the thunder. For example, describing the sound of thunder during a storm or mentioning it in a weather report.

雷鳴 is written using the kanji 雷 (rai - thunder) and 鳴 (mei - to sound, to ring, to echo). It is typically written in kanji. The reading is らいめい in hiragana. There are no common variations in okurigana for this word.

There aren't many direct synonyms for 雷鳴 that specifically refer to the sound of thunder. However, words related to thunder and storms include: ⚫︎ 雷 (kaminari) - thunder, lightning ⚫︎ 稲妻 (inazuma) - lightning ⚫︎ どよめき (doyomeki) - a roaring sound (can be used to describe thunder)

There aren't direct antonyms for 雷鳴. Words related to silence or calm could be considered opposite in terms of sound, such as: ⚫︎ 静寂 (seijaku) - silence ⚫︎ 静けさ (shizukesa) - quietness

夜空に雷が光り、ものすごい雷鳴が聞こえた。 ・Translation: Lightning flashed in the night sky, and a tremendous clap of thunder was heard. ・Explanation: This sentence describes both the visual (lightning) and auditory (thunder) aspects of a thunderstorm, highlighting the intensity of the 雷鳴.

激しい嵐の中、雷鳴の音が家中に響き渡った。 ・Translation: During the violent storm, the sound of thunder echoed throughout the house. ・Explanation: This sentence emphasizes the pervasive and loud nature of the 雷鳴, showing how it affected the surroundings.

The word 雷鳴 is a compound word. 雷 (rai) comes from the kanji for "thunder" or "lightning". 鳴 (mei) comes from the kanji for "to sound," "to ring," or "to echo." The combination of the two kanji literally means "thunder sounding" or "the sound of thunder."