灾 (zāi): disaster; calamity

Meanings

1 disaster; calamity
2 misfortune; adversity

Characters

灾

zāi

disaster; calamity

Examples

HSK 5

遇到灾害要保持冷静。

Yùdào zāihài yào bǎochí lěngjìng.

Stay calm when encountering a disaster.

HSK 6

这场灾难让很多人失去了家园。

Zhè chǎng zāinàn ràng hěnduō rén shīqù le jiāyuán.

This disaster caused many people to lose their homes.

HSK 7-9

天灾人祸是不可避免的。

Tiānzāi rénhuò shì bùkěbìmiǎn de.

Natural and man-made disasters are unavoidable.

Tips

usage

灾 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese - it usually combines into compounds: 灾难 (disaster), 灾害 (calamity), 火灾 (fire), 水灾 (flood), 天灾 (natural disaster).

culture

The traditional form 災 shows fire (火) under a roof (宀) - fire in the house is the original image of disaster.

Components

radical

火 huǒ

fire

Bottom fire - the indexing radical here. A pictograph of flames rising in three points with sparks at the base. The compound ideograph reads transparently as 'fire under the roof' = household disaster, the original calamity of agrarian life. Same family of fire chars: 灯 lamp, 炎 inflammation, 烧 burn, 烤 roast.

semantic

宀 mián

roof; house cover

Top roof radical - pictograph of a peaked house cover with two side walls. Marks the scene as something happening inside a building. Same radical anchors home-related characters: 家 home, 安 peace, 宿 lodge, 室 room. In 灾 it tells you the disaster strikes a dwelling.