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灾祸 (zāi huò) — disaster, calamity

Definition

灾祸 is a written, formal word for a 'disaster / calamity' — heavier and more literary than the everyday 灾难, often used in news, reports, or serious writing to stress the severity of the event.

noun
disastercalamity

Examples

  • 灾祸。
    Dì zhèn shì yì zhǒng kě pà de zāi huò.
    Earthquakes are a kind of terrible disaster.
  • 灾祸。
    Zhè cì hóng shuǐ gěi dāng dì dài lái le jù dà de zāi huò.
    This flood brought huge calamity to the local area.
  • 灾祸。
    Rén men nǔ lì bì miǎn zāi huò de fā shēng.
    People strive to avoid the occurrence of disasters.

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
祸huòcalamity

灾 and 祸 both name misfortune, so together they mean disaster or 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.

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.

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 →
Appears in
Safety & Danger

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