雷鳴

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: The spelling is 雷鳴, read らいめい, and it combines 雷, meaning thunder, with 鳴, meaning sound or resound.
• Basic usage: The basic sense of 雷鳴 is thunder, the rumbling or crashing sound produced when lightning rapidly heats and expands the surrounding air.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The resonating sound rather than the flash
  • Both examples use the form 雷鳴. It focuses on the audible thunder that rumbles at a distance or can be imitated with drums, not on the visible lightning flash.
• Distant rumbling and a theatrical drum effect
  • 遠くで雷鳴が響き、空が急に暗くなりました。 — Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the sky suddenly grew dark.
  • 劇場では太鼓を使って雷鳴を表現しました。 — The theater used drums to create the sound of thunder.