DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

災

简灾 · 繁災

Mandarin · pinyin zāi

disaster; calamity

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

災: Look up this written character
灾: zāi · calamity, disaster, catastrophe

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1 · zai1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link9same-tone records

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

災 · find source passages ↗ · 灾 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zoi1

Cantonese word readings for 災. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character

(literary, or in compounds) calamity; disaster; catastrophe
(literary, or in compounds) fire; to be destroyed by fire
(literary, or in compounds) personal misfortune
(literary, or in compounds) stricken; disaster-affected; disaster-afflicted

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack