雷 vs 雷聲 vs 雷鳴 for "thunder", which is most common? There's a huge thunderstorm here in Kaohsiung right now so I thought I would learn the word for "thunder".

I can find three words in the dictionary and wonder which I should use for everybody to understand me:


雷 léi
雷聲 léishēng
雷鳴 léimíng


I know often single-character words are technically correct but not usually used on their own. But also quite a few are, such as 雨.

Also some words are poetic or technical or archaic or dialectal, etc.

Which of these three words should I use most of the time for "thunder"?
打雷 is the best for describing action.
現在外面正在打雷 There's thunder outside right now

雷聲 is also good for describing what you hear
我剛被雷聲嚇到 I was surprised (shocked) by the sound of the thunder

雷 by itself means thunder, and used a little less often
but it also means bomb as in 地雷.
這家店有雷. This store is a bomb. (When joking to friends that this food store sucks and is like stepping on a bomb/mine)

You could say, 外面有雷 There is thunder outside
But it would sound awkward, the common phrase would be, 外面正在打雷