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救灾 (jiù zāi) — to provide disaster relief, to help disaster victims

Definition

Disaster relief as organized action (government, agencies) after a natural disaster — broader than 救援 (emergency rescue) and 救济 (cash/goods aid), which target the crisis and victims directly.

verb
to provide disaster reliefto help disaster victims

Examples

  • 救灾。
    Zhèng fǔ zhèng zài zǔ zhī jiù zāi.
    The government is organizing disaster relief.
  • 救灾。
    Hěn duō zhì yuàn zhě cān jiā le jiù zāi.
    Many volunteers took part in disaster relief.
  • 救灾。
    Zhè cì jiù zāi xíng dòng hěn chéng gōng.
    This disaster relief operation was very successful.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

救jiùsave
灾zāidisaster

救 gives save, and 灾 gives disaster, meaning to relieve disaster.

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
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
求
求qiú救jiù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 救, 求 gives the sound, and 攴 is the action part.

Open 救 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6

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