灾 meaning and stroke order
Disaster; calamity
How to write 灾, 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
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- 5
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- 7
Meaning of 灾
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- disaster; calamity
- variant of 災|灾[zai1]
- old variant of 災|灾[zai1]
How 灾 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A house 宀 on fire 火.
Radical: 火 (fire), shared by 128 characters on this site.
How to remember 灾
The roof 宀 sits on top of fire 火. A house on fire is a clear picture of disaster, which is what 灾 (zāi) means.
灾 (zāi) rarely stands alone in modern speech. It usually appears in words like 灾难 (zāinàn, disaster), 火灾 (huǒzāi, fire), and 水灾 (shuǐzāi, flood). Example: 这次水灾很严重。(Zhè cì shuǐzāi hěn yánzhòng.) This flood is very serious.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes confuse 灾 with 灭 (miè, to extinguish), which also contains 火 but has a single horizontal stroke on top instead of the roof 宀. Remember that 灾 has a house roof, while 灭 has a lid that smothers the fire.
Common words with 灾
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 灾难 | zāinàn | disaster; catastrophe | HSK 5 |
| 火灾 | huǒzāi | serious fire (in a city or a forest etc) | HSK 5 |
| 灾害 | zāihài | calamity; disaster | HSK 5 |
| 救灾 | jiùzāi | to relieve disaster; to help disaster victims | HSK 5 |
| 受灾 | shòuzāi | disaster-stricken; to be hit by a natural calamity | HSK 5 |
| 水灾 | shuǐzāi | flood; flood damage | HSK 5 |
| 灾区 | zāiqū | disaster area; stricken region | HSK 5 |
| 旱灾 | hànzāi | drought | HSK 7-9 |
| 灾难性 | zāinànxìng | catastrophic | |
| 幸灾乐祸 | xìngzāilèhuò | (idiom) to take pleasure in another's misfortune | |
| 灾祸 | zāihuò | disaster | |
| 灾星 | zāixīng | comet or supernova viewed as evil portent; (fig.) sb or sth that brings disaster | |
| 牢狱之灾 | láoyùzhīzāi | imprisonment | |
| 天灾 | tiānzāi | natural disaster |
灾 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 灾
How many strokes are in 灾?
灾 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 灾 mean?
灾 (zāi) means disaster; calamity. A common word with it is 灾难 (zāinàn), meaning "disaster; catastrophe".
How do you pronounce 灾?
灾 is pronounced zāi, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 灾?
The radical of 灾 is 火, which carries the idea of "fire". Dictionaries list 灾 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 灾?
The traditional form of 灾 is 災, 烖 and 菑. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 灾 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 灾 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 灾 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
What is the difference between 灾难 and 灾害?
灾难 (zāinàn) is a general word for any disaster or catastrophe, including personal misfortune. 灾害 (zāihài) is more formal and often refers to natural hazards and the damage they cause, as in 自然灾害 (zìrán zāihài, natural disaster).
How do I name a specific type of disaster with 灾?
Put the cause before 灾. For example, 火灾 (huǒzāi) is a fire, 水灾 (shuǐzāi) is a flood, and 旱灾 (hànzāi) is a drought. The area that was hit is called 灾区 (zāiqū).