How to say “lightning” in Chinese
lightning
“Lightning” in Chinese is 闪电, shǎn diàn: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
闪电 is read shǎn diàn: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Outside, 门 “door”; inside, 人 “person”: someone flashed past in the doorway.
Originally a picture of lightning.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “闪电”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 闪电. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 先看见闪电后听见雷声xiānkànjiànshǎndiàn,hòutīngjiànléishēngFirst you see the lightning, then you hear the thunder.
More words from the lesson “Weather report: thunderstorms and clear skies”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “lightning” in Chinese?
“Lightning” in Chinese is 闪电, pinyin shǎndiàn.
What does 闪电 mean?
闪电 (shǎndiàn) means “lightning”.
How do you write 闪电?
闪电 is 2 characters: 闪 (shǎn) — flash; dodge; 电 (diàn) — electricity. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 闪电?
闪电 is read shǎndiàn. Tones: shǎn — third tone, diàn — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“lightning” in the lesson “Weather report: thunderstorms and clear skies”
This word is from the topic “Land, sea, weather” of HSK 6. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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