<blockquote>
<p>As a noun, both 霹靂 and 雷霆 can be translated as &quot;thunderbolt&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To find the difference between them, we can look into the idioms associate with the two terms:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>雷霆萬均(之勢) = Thunderous (momentum)</p>
</li>
<li><p>大發雷霆 =  Raging furiously; thunderous rage</p>
</li>
<li><p>晴天霹靂 = Thunder from a clear sunny sky</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>From the idioms above, it seems like:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>霹靂 is mainly used as a noun for 'thunderbolt' or 'sound of a  thunderclap'</p>
</li>
<li><p>雷霆 is mainly used in a metaphorical sense. As an adjective for &quot;thunderous&quot; e.g. 雷霆一擊 (a thunderous strike)</p>
</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-07T08:56:48.143Z
2020-07-07T08:56:48.143Z
Tang Ho
<p>雷霆 feels more strong and impactful; 霹雳 feels more sudden and fast.</p>
<p>雷霆万钧, means so powerful
晴天霹雳, a heavy blow for someone (that's usually not expected)
霹雳手段, used on a person that's highly decisive</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-03T22:53:22.667Z
2024-08-03T23:02:22.563Z
2024-08-03T23:02:22.563Z
Ra Lau
<blockquote>
<p>我听到了一声霹雳，随后天空突然开始下起了雨</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To me, this sentence is a bit off, because 霹雳 is usually a vision of lightening.  I will probably put: 一道霹雳，随后天空突然开始下起了雨。 or 就见一道霹雳，随后天空突然开始下起了雨。</p>
<blockquote>
<p>空中雷霆一响，就把孩子吓哭了。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This sentence makes a lot of sense.</p>
<p>So, the difference: <strong>雷霆 is more of sounding and 霹雳 is more of vision.</strong></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-07T11:38:14.250Z
2020-07-07T11:38:14.250Z
dan
<p>According to 汉典:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E9%9C%B9%E9%9B%B3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">霹雳</a> (pīlì) mainly means <strong>thunderbolt</strong> as the atmospherical phenomenon.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>又急又响的雷，是云与地面之间发生的强烈雷电现象</p>
<p>sudden and loud thunder, it's the strong lightning bolt occurring between the clouds and earth</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E9%9B%B7%E9%9C%86" rel="nofollow noreferrer">雷霆</a> (léitíng) mainly means <strong>thunderclap</strong>, as the booming sound of the thunderbolt, and it's also used figuratively. In English that would be <strong>thunderous</strong>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>洪大而急发的雷声</p>
<p>booming and sudden thunder clap</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>比喻声威或怒气</p>
<p>describes metaphorically prestige or rage (thunderous, roaring)</p>
</blockquote>
<hr> 
<p>In your examples, the two words look similar because of context:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>空中雷霆一响</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here it's definitely thunderclap, reinforced by the presence of 响, denoting a sound. (The usage of “一 yī” follows the <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/32970/%e4%b8%80-%e5%b0%b1-vs-%e4%ba%86-%e5%b0%b1">&quot;一 (yī) ～ 就 (jiù)&quot; structure</a>, events in quick sequence). &quot;A thunderclap from the sky, ...&quot;.</p>
<p>Translating as &quot;The thunderbolt&quot; is not <em>wrong</em>, but that seems poetic license on the translator's part, which is fine, since the sentence can't be nicely translated word-for-word.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>我听到了一声霹雳</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here 霹雳 is preceded by 一声, which works as a classifier / measure word, and results in &quot;one sound of thunderbolt&quot;. Therefore &quot;I heard a clap of thunder.&quot;</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-07T11:22:14.603Z
"空中雷霆一响，就把孩子吓哭了". 响 in 一响 here is not a measure word. 一响 here set up a sequence. It's more like "once", "when", "after", etc. The sentence roughly means "Hearing the thunder, the boy was frightened to cry."
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-07T11:23:46.990Z
Compare to: 铃声一响，同学们马上就进教室了。
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-07T11:27:28.540Z
@dan Your analysis is correct, as a matter of fact I did not say that 一响 is a measure word...
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-07T11:41:26.423Z
ok, this part makes me think you might take it as a measure word "Here it's definitely thunderclap, reinforced by 一响. "A thunderclap from the sky""
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-07T11:56:51.390Z
@dan thanks for bringing that up, edited for clarity
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-07T08:03:07.423Z
2020-07-07T11:54:41.897Z
2020-07-07T11:54:41.897Z
blackgreen
<p>except for their other uses, such as 霹雳舞(breakdance) and their respective 成语, are they considered synonyms? they're both translated as</p>
<p>霹雳: thunderbolt</p>
<p>雷霆: thunderbolt</p>
<blockquote>
<p>空中<strong>雷霆</strong>一响，就把孩子吓哭了 = The <strong>thunderbolt</strong> came from the sky, and frightened
the child into crying.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>我听到了一声<strong>霹雳</strong>，随后天空突然开始下起了雨 = I heard a <strong>clap of thunder</strong>, and then it
suddenly began to rain</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-22T04:46:31.283Z
When as children, mothers used to caution their kids not to tell lies, otherwise the 雷, ("lei") would 霹 ("pi") you. 霹 means to break something violently, and so to the ancients this is more the work of a bolt of lightning, (which is visible), rather than a thunderous but unseen sound from a 雷.
Wayne Cheah
<word-choice><difference><synonyms>
霹雳与雷霆有什么分别？(What's the difference between 霹雳 and 雷霆?)
# 霹雳与雷霆有什么分别？(What's the difference between 霹雳 and 雷霆?)

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-07-07)

except for their other uses, such as 霹雳舞(breakdance) and their respective 成语, are they considered synonyms? they're both translated as

霹雳: thunderbolt

雷霆: thunderbolt

> 空中**雷霆**一响，就把孩子吓哭了 = The **thunderbolt** came from the sky, and frightened
> the child into crying.

> 我听到了一声**霹雳**，随后天空突然开始下起了雨 = I heard a **clap of thunder**, and then it
> suddenly began to rain

**Tags:** word-choice, difference, synonyms
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: When as children, mothers used to caution their kids not to tell lies, otherwise the 雷, ("lei") would 霹 ("pi") you. 霹 means to break something violently, and so to the ancients this is more the work of a bolt of lightning, (which is visible), rather than a thunderous but unseen sound from a 雷.  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2020-07-07. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

According to 汉典:

[霹雳](https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E9%9C%B9%E9%9B%B3) (pīlì) mainly means **thunderbolt** as the atmospherical phenomenon.

> 又急又响的雷，是云与地面之间发生的强烈雷电现象
>
> sudden and loud thunder, it's the strong lightning bolt occurring between the clouds and earth

[雷霆](https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E9%9B%B7%E9%9C%86) (léitíng) mainly means **thunderclap**, as the booming sound of the thunderbolt, and it's also used figuratively. In English that would be **thunderous**.

> 洪大而急发的雷声
>
> booming and sudden thunder clap

> 比喻声威或怒气
>
> describes metaphorically prestige or rage (thunderous, roaring)

---

In your examples, the two words look similar because of context:

> 空中雷霆一响

Here it's definitely thunderclap, reinforced by the presence of 响, denoting a sound. (The usage of “一 yī” follows the ["一 (yī) ～ 就 (jiù)" structure](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/32970/%e4%b8%80-%e5%b0%b1-vs-%e4%ba%86-%e5%b0%b1), events in quick sequence). "A thunderclap from the sky, ...".

Translating as "The thunderbolt" is not *wrong*, but that seems poetic license on the translator's part, which is fine, since the sentence can't be nicely translated word-for-word.

> 我听到了一声霹雳

Here 霹雳 is preceded by 一声, which works as a classifier / measure word, and results in "one sound of thunderbolt". Therefore "I heard a clap of thunder."

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: "空中雷霆一响，就把孩子吓哭了". 响 in 一响 here is not a measure word. 一响 here set up a sequence. It's more like "once", "when", "after", etc. The sentence roughly means "Hearing the thunder, the boy was frightened to cry."  
> **username_4**: Compare to: 铃声一响，同学们马上就进教室了。  
> **username_5**: @dan Your analysis is correct, as a matter of fact I did not say that 一响 is a measure word...  
> **username_4**: ok, this part makes me think you might take it as a measure word "Here it's definitely thunderclap, reinforced by 一响. "A thunderclap from the sky""  
> **username_5**: @dan thanks for bringing that up, edited for clarity  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-07-07. Score: 2

> As a noun, both 霹靂 and 雷霆 can be translated as "thunderbolt"

To find the difference between them, we can look into the idioms associate with the two terms:

* 雷霆萬均(之勢) = Thunderous (momentum)
* 大發雷霆 = Raging furiously; thunderous rage
* 晴天霹靂 = Thunder from a clear sunny sky

From the idioms above, it seems like:

* 霹靂 is mainly used as a noun for 'thunderbolt' or 'sound of a thunderclap'
* 雷霆 is mainly used in a metaphorical sense. As an adjective for "thunderous" e.g. 雷霆一擊 (a thunderous strike)


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2024-08-03. Score: 2

雷霆 feels more strong and impactful; 霹雳 feels more sudden and fast.

雷霆万钧, means so powerful
晴天霹雳, a heavy blow for someone (that's usually not expected)
霹雳手段, used on a person that's highly decisive


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2020-07-07. Score: 0

> 我听到了一声霹雳，随后天空突然开始下起了雨

To me, this sentence is a bit off, because 霹雳 is usually a vision of lightening. I will probably put: 一道霹雳，随后天空突然开始下起了雨。 or 就见一道霹雳，随后天空突然开始下起了雨。

> 空中雷霆一响，就把孩子吓哭了。

This sentence makes a lot of sense.

So, the difference: **雷霆 is more of sounding and 霹雳 is more of vision.**


---

