天灾人祸 (tiān zāi rén huò) — natural and man-made disasters; calamities from every source

Definition

A set phrase pairing natural calamities (天灾) with man-made ones (人祸) to mean "disasters of every kind." The two halves emphasize that both nature and human actions cause the suffering.

idiom
natural and man-made disasterscalamities from every source

Examples

  • 天灾人祸，。
    Zhè ge dì qū jìn nián lái zāo shòu le xǔ duō tiān zāi rén huò, rén men de shēng huó hěn kùn nan.
    This region has suffered many natural and man-made disasters in recent years, making people's lives very difficult.
  • 天灾人祸，。
    Miàn duì tiān zāi rén huò, dà jiā yīng gāi tuán jié qǐ lái hù xiāng bāng zhù.
    Facing natural and man-made disasters, everyone should unite and help each other.
  • 。
    Lì shǐ shàng de měi yì tiān zāi rén huò dōu tí xǐng wǒ men yào zhēn xī xiàn zài de shēng huó.
    Every natural and man-made disaster in history reminds us to cherish our current life.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

天灾natural disaster
天tiānheaven灾zāidisaster
偏正Modifier + head
人祸man-made calamity
人rénpeople祸huòcalamity
偏正Modifier + head

天灾 are disasters from heaven and 人祸 are calamities from people.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 災; 灾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡿧
𡿧𡿧災zāi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 災 combines 火 (fire) with 𡿧, an old picture of flowing water that supplied the sound; the simplified 灾 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 灾 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 禍; 祸 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
示示shìsacrifice
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi禍huò
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The simplified 祸 is an abbreviation of traditional 禍, which pairs 示 (sacrifice) with 咼 to show pronunciation.

Open 祸 →

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