天灾人祸

天災人禍
tiānzāi-rénhuò
idiom #56,923

Meanings

  1. 1 natural and man-made disasters
  2. 2 calamities of every kind

Examples

HSK 5
Nà jǐ nián tiānzāi-rénhuò búduàn, lǎobǎixìng de rìzi hěn kǔ.
In those years one disaster followed another, natural and man-made, and ordinary people had a hard life.
HSK 6
Shéi yě wúfǎ yùliào tiānzāi-rénhuò, suǒyǐ mǎi fèn bǎoxiǎn shì yǒu bìyào de.
Nobody can predict disasters, natural or man-made, so it makes sense to buy insurance.

Tips

usage
天灾 is beyond human control, while 人祸 is caused by human error, greed or malice. Saying a flood was more 人祸 than 天灾, say because the dikes were neglected, puts the blame on people.

Stroke Order

天 tiān
灾 zāi
人 rén
祸 huò