The character 灾 — “disaster”: how to write it and what it means
disaster
The Chinese character 灾 is read zāi and means “disaster”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 灾
灾 has 7 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 灾, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 灾 is made of
On top, 宀 “roof”; under it, 火 “fire”: a house on fire.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 灾
- 灾害natural disasterHSK 6
- 灾难catastrophe, misfortuneHSK 6
- 灾区disaster areaHSK 6
- 受灾be hit by a disasterHSK 6
- 旱灾droughtHSK 6
- 火灾fire (disaster)HSK 6
- 救灾provide disaster reliefHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 灾?
灾 has 7 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 灾 mean?
灾 means “disaster”. It appears in 灾害 (“natural disaster”), 灾难 (“catastrophe”), 灾区 (“disaster area”), 受灾 (“be hit by a disaster”).
How do you pronounce 灾?
灾 is read zāi. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 灾 have?
7 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 灾 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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