災 meaning and stroke order
Disaster, catastrophe, calamity
How to write 災, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Meaning of 災
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- disaster; calamity
How 災 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A river 巛 on fire 火.
Radical: 火 (fire), shared by 128 characters on this site.
How to remember 災
災 stacks a river 巛 on top of fire 火. Flood above and fire below is about as bad as it gets, so the character means disaster.
災 is a traditional form, and you will see it in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and older texts. Mainland China writes 灾 instead, as in the common words 灾难 (zāinàn) and 火灾 (huǒzāi). It usually appears in compounds rather than alone, for example 這次水災很嚴重 (zhè cì shuǐzāi hěn yánzhòng), "This flood was very serious."
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 災 with 巡 (xún, to patrol), which also contains 巛 but has a walking radical instead of fire. Also remember the tone is first tone zāi, not fourth tone like 在 (zài).
Common words with 災
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 災難 | zāinàn | disaster; catastrophe | HSK 5 |
| 火災 | huǒzāi | serious fire (in a city or a forest etc) | HSK 5 |
| 災害 | zāihài | calamity; disaster | HSK 5 |
| 救災 | jiùzāi | to relieve disaster; to help disaster victims | HSK 5 |
| 受災 | shòuzāi | disaster-stricken; to be hit by a natural calamity | HSK 5 |
| 水災 | shuǐzāi | flood; flood damage | HSK 5 |
| 災區 | zāiqū | disaster area; stricken region | HSK 5 |
| 旱災 | hànzāi | drought | HSK 7-9 |
| 災難性 | zāinànxìng | catastrophic | |
| 幸災樂禍 | xìngzāilèhuò | (idiom) to take pleasure in another's misfortune | |
| 災禍 | zāihuò | disaster | |
| 災星 | zāixīng | comet or supernova viewed as evil portent; (fig.) sb or sth that brings disaster | |
| 牢獄之災 | láoyùzhīzāi | imprisonment | |
| 天災 | tiānzāi | natural disaster |
Questions about 災
How many strokes are in 災?
災 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 災 mean?
災 (zāi) means disaster, catastrophe, calamity. A common word with it is 灾难 (zāinàn), meaning "disaster; catastrophe".
How do you pronounce 災?
災 is pronounced zāi, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 災?
The radical of 災 is 火, which carries the idea of "fire". Dictionaries list 災 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 災?
災 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 灾, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 災 and 灾?
They are the same character with the same meaning and pronunciation. 灾 puts fire under a roof 宀 and is the simplified form used in mainland China, while 災 is used in traditional Chinese.
How do I say natural disaster in Chinese?
Say 自然災害 (zìrán zāihài), or 自然灾害 in simplified. Specific types use 災 as a suffix, such as 水災 (shuǐzāi) flood and 旱災 (hànzāi) drought.