shuǐ zāi
flood; inundation
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中国南方经常发生水灾。
Zhōngguó nánfāng jīngcháng fāshēng shuǐzāi.
Floods often occur in southern China.
水灾给人们的生活带来了很大的影响。
Shuǐzāi gěi rénmen de shēnghuó dài lái le hěn dà de yǐngxiǎng.
Floods have a great impact on people's lives.
政府正在采取措施防止水灾的发生。
Zhèngfǔ zhèngzài cǎiqǔ cuòshī fángzhǐ shuǐzāi de fāshēng.
The government is taking measures to prevent floods from happening.
洪水 (hóng shuǐ)
flood
水患 (shuǐ huàn)
flood disaster
旱灾 (hànzāi)
drought
干旱 (gànhàn)
dry spell
The Chinese word 水灾 (shuǐzāi) for "flood" is composed of two characters: 水 (shuǐ), meaning "water", and 灾 (zāi), meaning "disaster" or "calamity". The character 水 is a pictograph depicting water flowing from a higher to a lower place, while the character 灾 is a combination of the characters 火 (huǒ), meaning "fire", and 歹 (dǎi), meaning "bad" or "evil". Together, the two characters 水灾 convey the idea of a natural disaster caused by water, such as a flood or a tsunami.The word 水灾 has been used in Chinese for centuries to describe major flooding events that have caused widespread damage and loss of life. Some notable examples of 水灾 in Chinese history include the Yellow River Flood of 1938, which killed an estimated 500,000 people, and the Yangtze River Flood of 1954, which affected over 18 million people and caused widespread destruction.In modern Chinese, 水灾 is still commonly used to refer to floods and other water-related disasters. The word can also be used in a metaphorical sense to describe a situation of overwhelming difficulty or crisis, such as a financial crisis or a political scandal.
