thunderclap; bolt of lightning
Refers to a sudden, loud thunderclap. Commonly used in the set phrase 青天の霹靂 (a bolt from the blue) to describe a sudden, unexpected event.
Suddenly, a thunderclap roared.
The news was a bolt from the blue.
Standard kanji spelling for thunderclap; often used in the idiom 青天の霹靂 (a bolt from the blue).
Kana spelling is used when the kanji are considered difficult or for emphasis in casual writing.
The kanji 霹 and 靂 both represent the sound of thunder and are used together for emphasis. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the compound has been used in classical Chinese and Japanese to describe a sudden thunderclap.