冰雹
bīngbáo/piŋ⁵⁵ pɑʊ̯³⁵/
In Chinese, 'hail' can be translated as 冰雹 (bīngbáo). Wiktionary also lists лынзы (lɨnzɨ) and 雹 (pha̍uh).
Meaning: balls of ice (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| лынзы | lɨnzɨ | Dungan | |
| 雹 | pha̍uh | /pɑʊ̯³⁵/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Mainland China, standard, Taiwan, Sinological IPA) /pu̯ɔ³⁵/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, rare, literary, variant, Sinological IPA) /pau²¹³/ (Mandarin, Chengdu, Sinological IPA) /pɔːk̚²/ (Cantonese, Guangzhou, Sinological IPA, Standard Cantonese, Hong Kong) /tɔk̚³²⁻²¹/ (Cantonese, Taishanese, Taicheng, Sinological IPA) /tʰɔk̚³²⁻²¹/ (Cantonese, Taishanese, Taicheng, Sinological IPA) /pɔk̚³²/ (Cantonese, Taishanese, Taicheng, Sinological IPA) /pau³³/ (Cantonese, Taishanese, Taicheng, Sinological IPA) /pʊk̚⁵⁵/ (Sinological IPA, Yangjiang Yue, Jiangcheng) /pʰɔʔ²/ (Gan, Nanchang, Sinological IPA) /pʰok̚⁵/ (Hakka, Sixian, Miaoli, Neipu, Sinological IPA) /pʰok²/ (Hakka, Hailu, Zhudong, Sinological IPA) /pʰɔk̚⁵/ (Hakka, Meixian, Sinological IPA) /pʰo²¹/ (Hakka, Changting, Sinological IPA) /pau⁴⁵/ (Jin, Taiyuan, Sinological IPA, dated) /pʰau⁵⁵/ (Min Bei, Jian'ou, Sinological IPA) /pʰøyʔ⁵/ (Min Dong, Fuzhou, Sinological IPA) /pʰɑu²⁴²/ (Min Dong, Fuzhou, Sinological IPA) /pʰaʔ⁴/ (Puxian Min, Sinological IPA, Jiangkou, Nanri, Youyang, Fengting, Putian, Xianyou) /pʰauʔ⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taichung, Sinological IPA, Taipei, Kaohsiung, General Taiwanese) /pʰauʔ¹²¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taichung, Sinological IPA, General Taiwanese) /pʰau⁴¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Quanzhou, Yilan, Sinological IPA, Hsinchu, Sanxia) /pʰau²¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Quanzhou, Yilan, Sinological IPA, Hsinchu, Sanxia) /pʰau⁴⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Taipei, Kinmen, Sinological IPA, Magong) /pak̚⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Sinological IPA) /pak̚¹²¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Sinological IPA) /pak̚²⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Sinological IPA) /pɔk̚⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Sinological IPA) /pʰak̚⁴/ (Teochew, Sinological IPA) /tʰak̚²/ (Leizhou, Sinological IPA) /pɔk̚⁵/ (Leizhou, Sinological IPA) /pau³³/ (Leizhou, Sinological IPA) /bɔ²³/ (Wu, Northern, Shanghai, Sinological IPA) /boʔ¹²/ (Wu, Northern, Shanghai, Sinological IPA) /bæ²²³/ (Wu, Northern, Suzhou, Sinological IPA) /pʰɒu̯⁴⁵/ (Xiang, Changsha, Sinological IPA) |
Hokkien |
| 冰雹 | bīngbáo | /piŋ⁵⁵ pɑʊ̯³⁵/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /pin⁵⁵ pau²¹³/ (Mandarin, Chengdu, Sinological IPA) /pĩ³¹ poʔ⁵/ (Mandarin, Nanjing, Sinological IPA) /pɪŋ⁵⁵ pɔːk̚²/ (Cantonese, Guangzhou, Sinological IPA, Standard Cantonese, Hong Kong) /pen²⁴⁻¹¹ pʰok̚⁵/ (Hakka, Sixian, Miaoli, Neipu, Sinological IPA) /piŋ⁵⁵ pʰøyʔ⁵/ (Min Dong, Fuzhou, Sinological IPA) /piŋ⁵⁵⁻⁵³ pʰɑu²⁴²/ (Min Dong, Fuzhou, Sinological IPA) /piɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² pʰauʔ⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Sinological IPA, General Taiwanese) /piɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² pʰauʔ¹²¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Sinological IPA, General Taiwanese) /piɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ pʰauʔ⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Sinological IPA, Taipei, Kaohsiung, General Taiwanese) /piɪŋ³³ pʰau⁴¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Quanzhou, Sinological IPA, Hsinchu) /pin⁵⁵ bɔ²¹/ (Wu, Northern, Shanghai, Sinological IPA) /pin⁴⁴ bæ/ (Wu, Northern, Suzhou, Sinological IPA) /piŋ⁵⁵ boʔ⁵⁵/ (Wu, Northern, Sinological IPA, Changzhou, Changzhou) /pin³³ pʰɒu̯⁴⁵/ (Xiang, Changsha, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 雹子 | báozi | /pɑʊ̯³⁵ d͡z̥ɹ̩³/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /pɔːk̚² t͡siː³⁵/ (Cantonese, Guangzhou, Sinological IPA, Standard Cantonese, Hong Kong) /pʰɔʔ² t͡sɹ̩¹/ (Gan, Nanchang, Sinological IPA) /pʰak̚⁴⁻² t͡sɯ⁵²/ (Min Nan, Teochew, Sinological IPA) |
The primary meaning of 'hail' refers to balls of ice. You can also use related verb phrases like 落雹, 下雹 or 下冰雹 to describe the action of hail falling. Note that the term 萬歲 /万岁 exists in Chinese but serves as an interjection meaning 'greeting!', which is unrelated to weather.
Which one should you use?
While 冰雹 is the standard term, 雹子 is a more colloquial version often used in spoken northern Chinese dialects. In Hokkien, the word is 雹 and in Dungan, it is лынзы.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The form 雹子 is commonly found in northern Chinese dialects, while 雹 is the Hokkien form and лынзы is the Dungan form.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the verb 'to hail' (the action of hail falling), use the verb 下 (to fall/descend) with the noun 冰雹.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization for 冰雹 is bīngbáo. The IPA is /piŋ⁵⁵ pɑʊ̯³⁵/.
Did you know?
- The word 雹 shares a deep historical root with the word for 'dragon' 龍, stemming from ancient concepts of thunder and storms.
- Dungan is a variety of Chinese spoken in Central Asia that uses the word лынзы for hail.
- The character 雹 is constructed with the radical for 'rain' 雨, which is a common way Chinese characters categorize weather phenomena.
Examples in context
- 你什么时候看见过冰雹吗？Have you ever seen it hail?This sentence is useful for asking if someone has seen 雹.Tatoeba #918456 by layu, translation #326657 by CK
- 下冰雹to hailThis sentence is useful for describing the action of 冰雹.
- 今天下午突然下了一场冰雹。There was a sudden hailstorm this afternoon.
- 刚才那些冰雹真大。Gāngcái nàxiē bīngbáo zhēn dà.Those hailstones just now were really big.
Example conversation
A woman and a man are looking out the window at a storm.
- 志强 Zhiqiang快看，外面在下冰雹。Kuài kàn, wàimiàn zài xià bīngbáo.Look quickly, it is hailing outside.
- 梓涵 Zihan这些冰雹把窗户都敲响了。Zhèxiē bīngbáo bǎ chuānghù dōu qiāo xiǎng le.These hailstones are banging on the window.
- 志强 Zhiqiang希望冰雹不要砸坏车子。Xīwàng bīngbáo bùyào zá huài chēzi.I hope the hail doesn't damage the car.
- 梓涵 Zihan我们先关好窗户吧。Wǒmen xiān guān hǎo chuānghù ba.Let's close the windows tightly first.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hail” translations and entries 雹, 冰雹, 雹子, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 雹, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR, Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
