TongTong
Sign in

灾害 (zāi hài) — disaster; calamity

Definition

A general noun for any natural or human-made disaster (floods, earthquakes, etc.). Stronger and broader than 灾 (a single misfortune); less literary than 灾难, which emphasizes catastrophic scale.

noun
disastercalamity
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 灾害。
    Zhè cì zāi hài yǐng xiǎng le zhěng gè chéng shì.
    This disaster affected the entire city.
  • 灾害。
    Zhèng fǔ zhèng zài nǔ lì jiǎn shǎo zāi hài dài lái de sǔn shī.
    The government is working hard to reduce the losses caused by the disaster.
  • 灾害。
    Yù fáng zāi hài xū yào quán shè huì de gòng tóng nǔ lì.
    Preventing disasters requires the joint efforts of the whole society.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

灾zāidisaster
害hàiharm

灾 and 害 both point to calamity and harm, so together they mean 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.

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 →

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 6HSK 2.0 Level 5Safety & Danger

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.