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祸害 (huò hai) — (noun) disaster, calamity; something that causes great harm and destruction; (noun) a person who causes trouble; a nuisance, a scourge; (verb) to cause harm to, to damage, to wreak havoc on

Definition

祸害 (huòhai) names the disaster or troublemaker itself (noun) and the act of causing it (verb). Broader and more vivid than the harm-focused 害; stronger and more concrete than the abstract 坏处.

noun
disastercalamitysomething that causes great harm and destructiona person who causes troublea nuisancea scourge
verb
to cause harm toto damageto wreak havoc on

Examples

  • 祸害。
    Zhè cì dì zhèn gěi dāng dì dài lái le jù dà de huò hai.
    This earthquake brought great disaster to the area.
  • ，。
    Zhè ge qiáng dào shì cūn lǐ de yí dà huò hai, méi rén gǎn rě tā.
    This bandit is a real scourge in the village; nobody dares to provoke him.
  • 祸害。
    Zhè xiē hài chóng zhèng zài huò hai nóng mín de zhuāng jia.
    These pests are damaging the farmers' crops.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

祸huòdisaster
害hàiharm

'祸害' pairs 祸 and 害, disaster and harm together.

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.

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 →

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
丯
丯jiè害hài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

害 was borrowed purely for its sound. Its old picture, possibly a house rafter, is unrelated to harm.

Open 害 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Safety & Danger

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