Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced lei
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced lei, including 类 lèi, 雷 léi, 勒 lè / lēi, 泪 lèi, 累 léi / lěi / lèi. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
Build lei by sliding from l straight into ei; the tone rides over the joined sound, so treat it as one unit.
Initial l
Start the syllable on the initial l, then run straight into the final ei — keep them joined instead of sounding out separate English letters.
Final ei
Settle the final ei into a steady mouth shape first, then lay the tone on top.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (类 lèi, 雷 léi, 勒 lè / lēi, 泪 lèi, 累 léi / lěi / lèi) and lock in their tones. 6 common characters share the sound lei, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
lei turns up here with 3 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 雷, 累 (2 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 垒 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 类, 勒, 泪 (3 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing lei inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
6 common characters in this group.