蕾 (lěi): bud
蕾 (lěi) is a Chinese character meaning “bud.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 艹 (semantic) and 雷 (phonetic). It ranks #2877 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 蕾 plant. Its radical form 艹 (grass) appears in many related characters such as 花 (huā, flower), 茶 (chá, tea), 菜 (cài, vegetable, dish).
Definitions
- bud
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 蕾 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 芭蕾noun | bā lěi | ballet (loanword) |
| 芭蕾舞noun | bā lěi wǔ | ballet (loanword) |
| 味蕾noun | wèi lěi | taste bud(s) |
| 花蕾noun | huā lěi | bud |
| 蓓蕾noun | bèi lěi | flower bud |
| 舒芙蕾 | shū fú lěi | (loanword) soufflé |
| 莫蕾 | mò lěi | mole (Mexican sauce) |
| 性蕾期 | xìng lěi qī | phallic stage (psychology) |
| 克蕾儿 | kè lěi r | Clare (name) |
| 蕾丝花边 | lěi sī huā biān | lace border (loanword) |
| 蕾丝边noun | lěi sī biān | (slang) (loanword) lesbian |
| 卡纳蕾 | kǎ nà lěi | canelé (a French pastry) (loanword) |
| 水上芭蕾 | shuǐ shàng bā lěi | synchronized swimming |
| 杜蕾斯 | dù lěi sī | Durex, a condom brand name |
| 蕾哈娜 | lěi hā nà | Rihanna (1988-), Barbadian pop singer |
蕾 appears in 20 compound words: 20 as the first character, 60 as the last, and 20 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 蕾 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
花园里的花蕾含苞待放，预示着春天的到来。
Huāyuán lǐ de huālěi hán bāo dài fàng, yùshì zhe chūntiān de dàolái.
The flower buds in the garden are ready to bloom, heralding the arrival of spring.
在刘军看来，一个学西方芭蕾的人，做了这样一件开创性的事，意义特别重大。
zài liú jūn kàn lái , yī gè xué xī fāng bā lěi de rén , zuò le zhè yàng yī jiàn kāi chuàng xìng de shì , yì yì tè bié chóng dà .
In Liu Jun’s view, it is particularly significant that someone trained in Western ballet has accomplished such a groundbreaking feat.
前芭蕾舞演员赞神韵舞蹈:世界级水准!
qián bā lěi wǔ yǎn yuán zàn shén yùn wǔ dǎo : shì jiè jí shuǐ zhǔn !
Former Ballet Dancer Praises Shen Yun Dance: World-Class!
...I角色变新网红 Z世代迷虚拟人物“咖啡芭蕾舞者”爆红
. . . I jiǎo sè biàn xīn wǎng hóng Z shì dài mí xū nǐ rén wù kā fēi bā lěi wǔ zhě bào hóng
...A character becomes the latest internet sensation; Gen Z is obsessed with the virtual character "Coffee Ballerina," who has gone viral
前港姐旅遊歎陽光與海灘百變水着大解放 蕾絲泳衣晒玲瓏有致身材
qián gǎng jiě lǚ 遊 歎 陽 guāng 與 hǎi 灘 bǎi 變 shuǐ zhe dà jiě fàng lěi 絲 yǒng yī shài 玲 瓏 yǒu zhì shēn cái
Former Miss Hong Kong travels to enjoy the sun and the beach, the ever-changing swimsuit is liberated, and the lace swimsuit shows off her exquisite figure
草莓季甜點 繽紛層次引爆味蕾驚喜
cǎo 莓 jì tián 點 繽 紛 層 cì yǐn bào wèi lěi 驚 xǐ
Strawberry season desserts are colorful and surprising to the taste buds
特蕾莎修女被授予诺贝尔奖。
Tè lěi shā xiūnǚ bèi shòuyǔ Nuòbèi'ěr Jiǎng.
Mother Teresa was given the Nobel prize.
萨米非常讨厌蕾拉。
Sà mǐ fēicháng tǎoyàn lěi lā.
Sami hates Layla so much.
蕾拉在哪里？她不是跟你在一起吗？
Lěilā zài nǎlǐ? Tā bù shì gēn nǐ zàiyīqǐ ma?
Where is Layla? Isn't she with you?
蕾拉之前在和癌症作鬪爭。
Lěi lā zhīqián zài hé áizhèng zuò dòu zhēng.
Layla was battling cancer.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 蕾 (lěi)?
Is 蕾 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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