灾 (zāi) — disaster, calamity
Definition
灾 is the bound morpheme for 'disaster, calamity', almost always paired with another character (e.g. 火灾 fire, 旱灾 drought). Standalone use is rare — prefer 灾难 or 灾害 for the full word.
noun
disastercalamity
Measure word · 场
Examples
- 。Zhè chǎng huǒ zāi shì yì chǎng kě pà de zāi nàn.This fire is a terrible disaster.
- 。Zhè cì zāi nàn gěi rén men dài lái le jù dà de sǔn shī.This disaster has brought huge losses to people.
- 。Wǒ men yīng gāi tí qián zuò hǎo fáng zāi de zhǔn bèi.We should make preparations for disaster prevention in advance.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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.
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.
Appears in
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