灾

災/烖/菑
zāi
宀 + 火
HSK 3.0Level 6

Definitions

zāi (noun) disaster; calamity

Etymology

Depicts a fire (火) burning a building (宀).

About

灾 is the simplified form of 災, and both denote disaster. The traditional 災 combines 巛 ('flood') and 火 ('fire'), representing the two elemental calamities most feared in antiquity. The simplified character replaces the flood component with 宀 ('roof'), so that a fire (火) burns under a roof , a house fire, a direct and personal catastrophe. Together, these forms convey the notion of ruinous misfortune and calamity.

Example Sentences Hide

昨天这里发生了火灾。

Zuótiān zhèlǐ fāshēng le huǒzāi.

Yesterday, a fire disaster occurred here.

洪水造成严重水灾。

Hóngshuǐ zàochéng yánzhòng shuǐzāi.

The flood caused a serious water disaster.

自然灾害很难预测。

Zìrán zāihài hěn nán yùcè.

Natural disasters are hard to predict.

政府正在组织救灾工作。

Zhèngfǔ zhèngzài zǔzhī jiùzāi gōngzuò.

The government is organizing disaster relief work.

受灾群众需要帮助。

Shòuzāi qúnzhòng xūyào bāngzhù.

The affected people need help.

这次地震是一场大灾难。

Zhè cì dìzhèn shì yī chǎng dà zāinàn.

This earthquake is a great disaster.

预防灾害比救灾更重要。

Yùfáng zāihài bǐ jiùzāi gèng zhòngyào.

Preventing disasters is more important than disaster relief.

国际社会援助灾后重建。

Guójì shèhuì yuánzhù zāi hòu chóngjiàn.

The international community assists in post-disaster reconstruction.

Related Characters

Component: 宀

家 定 实 它 安 完 字 官 容 察 客 室 宗 富

Component: 火

灵 炮 灭 烟 炸 伙 灯 秋 烧 爆 烦 灰 炎 燃

Example Words

幸灾乐祸 消灾 火灾 灾难 受灾 多灾多难 天灾 成灾 救灾 旱灾 水灾 泛滥成灾 洪灾 灾区 灾害 灾情 灾民 灾祸 灾变 重灾区 防灾 大灾 天灾人祸 抗灾