Japanese symbol for “lightning”
雷
かみなり
Romaji: kaminari
lightning; thunder; thunderbolt
In Japanese, lightning is 雷, read かみなり (kaminari).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n lightning; thunder; thunderbolt
- n god of thunder; god of lightning
- n anger; fit of anger
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “lightning”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 稲妻 | いなずま inazuma | lightning; flash of lightning; lightning bolt |
| 電光 | でんこう denkou | lightning |
| ライトニング | ライトニング raitoningu | lightning |
| 雷光 | らいこう raikou | lightning |
| 稲光 | いなびかり inabikari | (flash of) lightning |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 地雷 | じらい jirai | land mine |
| 魚雷 | ぎょらい gyorai | torpedo |
| 落雷 | らくらい rakurai | lightning strike; lightning bolt |
| 機雷 | きらい kirai | (sea) mine |
| 雷鳴 | らいめい raimei | thunder; thunderclap; crash of thunder |
| 雷雨 | らいう raiu | thunderstorm; thundershower |
See also: Chinese symbol for “lightning”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.