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浩劫 (hào jié) — catastrophe, calamity, apocalypse (a great disaster)

Definition

A literary, elevated term for a catastrophic disaster of enormous scale — stronger and more formal than 灾难. Carries an apocalyptic, doom-like weight similar to 末日.

noun
catastrophecalamityapocalypse (a great disaster)

Examples

  • 浩劫。
    Zhè chǎng zhàn zhēng gěi rén mín dài lái le kōng qián de hào jié.
    This war brought an unprecedented catastrophe to the people.
  • 浩劫。
    Rén lèi bì xū jǐng tì hé zhàn zhēng dài lái de hào jié.
    Humanity must be vigilant against the apocalypse brought by nuclear war.
  • ，浩劫。
    Nà cì hóng shuǐ guò hòu, zhěng gè cūn zhuāng biàn chéng le yí piàn hào jié hòu de fèi xū.
    After that flood, the whole village turned into a post-apocalyptic ruin.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

浩hàovast/great
劫jiédisaster

浩 “vast/great” magnifies 劫 “disaster”, meaning a huge calamity.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
告
告gào浩
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape pairs 水, water, with 告, which gives the sound.

Open 浩 →

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
力力lìpower, force
Sound part声符shēngfú
去
去qù劫jié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

劫 pairs 去, which gives the sound, with 力, meaning power or force.

Open 劫 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract ConceptsSafety & Danger

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.