祸

旤/禍

huò

呙 + 礻

Frequency#1870

Definitions

huò (noun) disaster; misfortune; calamity

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 礻 represents the meaning and 呙 represents the sound. Simplified form of 禍.

Semantic: 礻 Phonetic: 呙

About

The character "祸", with its traditional form 禍, etymologically originates from a combination of the semantic component 示, denoting matters related to spirits or the divine, and the phonetic component 咼, suggesting a historical association of misfortune with supernatural agency. The simplified form 祸 adapts this structure by using the condensed radical 礻 and the simplified phonetic 呙. While the character's core meaning of "disaster" or "calamity" has been consistent, its application shifted from primarily describing divinely sent afflictions to encompassing a wider range of personal and societal misfortunes, reflecting a gradual secularization in its usage over time.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Late Warring States (~250 BC)

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

车祸很可怕。

Chēhuò hěn kěpà.

Car accidents are terrible.

他避免了一场大祸。

Tā bìmiǎnle yī chǎng dà huò.

He avoided a major disaster.

这场祸事造成了很多损失。

Zhè chǎng huòshì zàochéngle hěnduō sǔnshī.

This disaster caused a lot of loss.

如果不小心，就会惹祸。

Rúguǒ bù xiǎoxīn, jiù huì rě huò.

If you are not careful, you will cause trouble.

这次事故的祸首是驾驶员。

Zhè cì shìgù de huòshǒu shì jiàshǐyuán.

The chief culprit of this accident is the driver.

政府正在采取措施防止祸患发生。

Zhèngfǔ zhèngzài cǎiqǔ cuòshī fángzhǐ huòhuàn fāshēng.

The government is taking measures to prevent disasters from occurring.

尽管他试图掩盖，但祸事还是被公开了。

Jǐnguǎn tā shìtú yǎngài, dàn huòshì háishì bèi gōngkāi le.

Although he tried to cover it up, the disaster was still made public.

若是早听劝告，何至于今日酿成如此大祸？

Ruò shì zǎo tīng quàngào, hé zhìyú jīnrì niàngchéng rúcǐ dà huò?

If you had listened to the advice earlier, how could it have led to such a great disaster today?

Related Characters

Component: 呙

Component: 礻

祸