灾难 (zāinàn): disaster; catastrophe

Measure Word

一场灾难 chǎng

Meanings

1 disaster; catastrophe
2 calamity; suffering

Characters

difficulty; hardship; disaster

Disaster and hardship combined - catastrophic suffering.

Examples

HSK 3

灾难面前，人们互相帮助。

Zāinàn miànqián, rénmen hùxiāng bāngzhù.

In the face of disaster, people help each other.

HSK 4

战争给人民带来了巨大的灾难。

Zhànzhēng gěi rénmín dàilái le jùdà de zāinàn.

War brought enormous suffering to the people.

HSK 7-9

这是一场前所未有的灾难。

Zhè shì yì chǎng qiánsuǒwèiyǒu de zāinàn.

This is an unprecedented catastrophe.

Tips

usage

灾难片 means 'disaster movie' - a common film genre term. 灾难性 means 'catastrophic' as an adjective.

Stroke Order

灾 zāi

难 nán

Related Words

灾 zāi HSK 5 #10,196

disaster; calamity / misfortune; adversity

火灾 huǒzāi HSK 5 #3,491

fire (disaster); conflagration

灾难片 zāinànpiàn

disaster film / disaster movie

艰难 jiānnán HSK 5 #2,157

difficult; hard; challenging / arduous; trying

难以 nányǐ HSK 5 #2,022

hard to; difficult to / unable to easily (do something)

为难 wéinán HSK 5 #6,637

to feel embarrassed / to make things difficult for / to be in a dilemma

难得 nándé HSK 5 #6,692

seldom / rare / hard to come by

灾害 zāihài HSK 5 #21,146

calamity; disaster (especially natural) / plague; scourge

灾区 zāiqū HSK 5 #31,337

disaster area; disaster zone

遇难 yùnàn HSK 7-9 #10,187

to die in a disaster / to perish / to be killed (in an accident or calamity)