zāi
calamity
Depicts a fire (火) burning a building (宀).
Evolution

Oracle script
(~1250-1000 BC)
Seal script
Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical script
Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)Regular script
ModernDefinitions
Most common words with 灾
Freq. | Word | Meaning |
---|---|---|
disaster | ||
fire (that burns buildings etc) | ||
disaster | ||
calamity | ||
to relieve disaster |
Sources