Meaning of 火灾
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- serious fire (in a city or a forest etc)
How to use 火灾
火灾 is a formal noun for a serious, damaging fire, common in news reports, safety notices, and official language. It often pairs with verbs like 发生 (fāshēng, to occur) or 预防 (yùfáng, to prevent). Example: 昨晚这栋楼发生了火灾。(Zuówǎn zhè dòng lóu fāshēng le huǒzāi.) A fire broke out in this building last night.
火 (huǒ) looks like a flickering flame, and 灾 (zāi) shows that same fire 火 burning under a roof 宀. A fire inside your house is a disaster, so 火灾 is a destructive fire.
Common mistake: Learners often use 火灾 for any small fire, but a candle flame or a campfire is just 火 (huǒ). For something catching fire in everyday speech, use 着火 (zháohuǒ), as in 厨房着火了 (The kitchen is on fire).
火灾 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
火 huǒ · fire · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
灾 zāi · disaster · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Related words
Words that share a character with 火灾.
| 火车 | huǒchē | train |
| 着火 | zháohuǒ | to catch fire |
| 灾难 | zāinàn | disaster; catastrophe |
| 火腿 | huǒtuǐ | ham |
| 火柴 | huǒchái | match (for lighting fire) |
| 灾害 | zāihài | calamity; disaster |
| 救灾 | jiùzāi | to relieve disaster; to help disaster victims |
| 受灾 | shòuzāi | disaster-stricken; to be hit by a natural calamity |
| 水灾 | shuǐzāi | flood; flood damage |
| 灾区 | zāiqū | disaster area; stricken region |
| 火箭 | huǒjiàn | rocket |
| 火焰 | huǒyàn | blaze; flame |
Questions about 火灾
What does 火灾 mean?
火灾 (huǒzāi) means "serious fire (in a city or a forest etc)" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 火灾?
火灾 is made of 2 characters: 火 (4 strokes), 灾 (7 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 火灾 an HSK word?
Yes. 火灾 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 火灾 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 火灾 is written 火災.
What is the difference between 火灾 and 着火?
火灾 is a noun naming the disaster itself, while 着火 is a verb meaning to catch fire. You might shout 着火了 (Fire!) when it starts, and a news report later calls the event a 火灾.
How do you say forest fire in Chinese?
You can say 森林火灾 (sēnlín huǒzāi) for a forest fire. In shorter news style, 山火 (shānhuǒ, wildfire) is also very common.