殃

yāng

央 + 歹

Definitions

yāng calamity

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 歹 represents the meaning and 央 represents the sound.

Semantic: 歹 Phonetic: 央

About

The character 殃 (yāng) is a phono-semantic compound. Its semantic radical, 歹 (dǎi) on the left, signifies death, misfortune, or decay, establishing the character's core meaning related to calamity. The phonetic component, 央 (yāng) on the right, means "center" or "middle" and provides the pronunciation. Primarily a noun for a severe disaster or tragedy, 殃 also functions as a verb meaning to bring ruin or inflict harm upon others. This dual usage appears in both historical and modern texts, describing widespread catastrophes or personal suffering, as seen in the common compound "遭殃" (zāoyāng), which means to meet with disaster.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

灾难殃及无辜。

Zāinàn yāngjí wúgū.

The disaster affects the innocent.

火灾让整个城市遭殃。

Huǒzāi ràng zhěnggè chéngshì zāoyāng.

The fire made the whole city suffer.

污染会殃及后代。

Wūrǎn huì yāngjí hòudài.

Pollution will affect future generations.

这场事故殃及了许多家庭。

Zhè chǎng shìgù yāngjí le xǔduō jiātíng.

This accident affected many families.

经济衰退殃及全球市场。

Jīngjì shuāituì yāngjí quánqiú shìchǎng.

The economic recession adversely affected the global market.

他的错误决定殃及了整个团队。

Tā de cuòwù juédìng yāngjí le zhěnggè tuánduì.

His wrong decision brought disaster to the whole team.

自然灾害往往殃及最脆弱的群体。

Zìrán zāihài wǎngwǎng yāngjí zuì cuìruò de qúntǐ.

Natural disasters often affect the most vulnerable groups.

如果管理不当，这种疾病可能殃及整个国家。

Rúguǒ guǎnlǐ bù dàng, zhè zhǒng jíbìng kěnéng yāngjí zhěnggè guójiā.

If not managed properly, this disease could calamitously affect the entire country.

Related Characters

Component: 央

Component: 歹

殃