Dense, dramatic, and it means what you think.

What a Japanese person actually thinks
Powerful and a bit old-fashioned in a good way — the register of a folk tale about the thunder god. Reads as force of nature.

Meaning

Literally: rain + rice field
Actually: Thunder, and by extension lightning. Also a sudden furious scolding (雷を落とす — 'to drop a thunderbolt on someone').

Scores

Naturalness●●●●●

Common word.

Coolness●●●●●

13 strokes of solid structure, rain radical on top. One of the better single-character choices for something forceful.

Watch out

lowNeeds size. The rain radical's four dots turn into a smudge if the tattoo is small.

On skin

雷

Orientation: either

Bold. Large. The internal structure has to stay open.