遭难 (zāo nàn) — to meet with misfortune, to suffer a disaster (…

Definition

A formal verb for suffering a disaster or calamity. 难 (nàn) here means 'calamity' (as in 灾难), not the more common 'difficulty' (nán).

verb

to meet with misfortuneto suffer a disaster (formal)

遭难。
Nà chǎng zhàn zhēng ràng wú shù píng mín zāo nàn.
That war caused countless civilians to suffer disaster.
，。
Tā nián qīng shí zāo guò yí cì dà nàn, hòu lái cái màn màn hǎo qǐ lái.
He suffered a great calamity when young and only slowly recovered later.
，遭难。
Rú guǒ shì xiān zuò hǎo zhǔn bèi, jiù bù róng yì zāo nàn le.
If you prepare in advance, it's not easy to meet with misfortune.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

遭zāoencounter

难nándisaster

遭 “encounter” and 难 “disaster” combine to mean meeting misfortune.

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.

辶曹遭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuòmovement

Sound part声符shēngfú

曹

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

遭 pairs 辶, the walking part, with 曹, which gives the sound; the shape is for meeting on the road.

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 難; 难 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

隹隹zhuībird

Sound part声符shēngfú

暵

暵hàn難nán

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional 難 pairs 隹, a bird, with 暵 for sound, and meant a type of bird. It was later borrowed for other meanings; the modern 难 is a shorthand.