Chinese idiom · 成语
如雷贯耳
Meaning
Like thunder piercing ears; widely renowned.
Character by character
Origin and story
Literary usageThe phrase is well attested in Yuan drama and later fiction as a courteous acknowledgment of someone's reputation. In Zheng Tingyu's Chu Zhao Gong, a character says that the marshal's great name has long been heard as loudly as thunder. Similar greetings appear in Shuihu Zhuan and the Ming story collection Chu Ke Pai An Jing Qi.
The thunder is the metaphorical force of a name already reaching the listener before a meeting. It does not describe someone literally shouting, nor require a storm behind the expression. These passages show an established formula of recognition; they do not securely identify a single person who first coined it.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
这位导演的大名早已如雷贯耳，我却是第一次看他的电影。
I had long heard of this famous director, but this is my first time watching one of his films.
Usually modifies a name or reputation, not ordinary loud sounds.