劫难

劫難
jiénàn
noun #33,215

Meanings

  1. 1 calamity
  2. 2 disaster
  3. 3 catastrophe

Examples

HSK 5
Tā jīnglì le wúshù jiénàn, zhōngyú huídào le jiāxiāng.
He went through countless calamities and finally returned to his hometown.
HSK 7-9
Zhèbù xiǎoshuō jiǎngshù le yí ge jiāzú zài zhànzhēng zhōng de jiénàn.
This novel tells of a family's calamity during the war.

Tips

culture
originally means a 'kalpa' - a Buddhist cosmic time-cycle ending in destruction. 劫难 thus carries the flavor of fated disaster, as if karmic. Compare the lighter 灾难 (zāinàn, 'disaster') which is more everyday.

Stroke Order

jié
nán