Usage patterns 〈 人ひと 〉 に 災さい 難なん が 降ふ りかかる misfortune befalls someone
Suddenly, misfortune befell him.
災さい 難なん を 避さ ける to avoid misfortune
I left home early to avoid disaster.
災さい 難なん から 逃のが れる to escape from misfortune
He barely managed to escape the disaster.
災さい 難なん に 見み 舞ま われる to be struck by misfortune
That village was struck by repeated misfortunes.
Expressions 災さい 難なん に 遭あ う meet with misfortune; have an accident; suffer a calamity Kanji 難 difficult, impossible, trouble Related words· 12 災害 refers specifically to large-scale natural or man-made disasters like earthquakes or floods, while 災難 covers both such events and smaller personal misfortunes.
不幸 emphasizes the resulting unhappiness or grief, whereas 災難 focuses on the unfortunate event or accident itself.
厄災 is a more literary word for calamity, often used for disasters affecting many people, while 災難 is common and can apply to everyday personal bad luck too.
不運 describes the quality of being unlucky, while 災難 names the specific unlucky event that happens to someone.
Show 8 more Show fewer 苦難 stresses prolonged hardship or suffering one endures, while 災難 usually refers to a single unfortunate incident.
災難 usually describes a sudden, unexpected accident or mishap, while 災い can refer to a broader or more prolonged state of misfortune.
災難 refers to a concrete accident or disaster, while 厄 carries a superstitious, fate-related sense of misfortune.
災難 is a misfortune or mishap that befalls someone, often smaller in scale, whereas 悲劇 implies a deeper sense of tragic loss.
災難 is a broad word for any misfortune or calamity, whereas 遭難 specifically involves being lost, stranded, or in life-threatening peril outdoors.
災難 specifically means a concrete calamity or misfortune, while 難 in this sense is more abstract and confined to set phrases like 難に遭う .
災難 is a general word for misfortune or calamity that can befall a person for any reason, while 天災 is limited to disasters caused by natural forces.
災難 refers to the misfortune or calamity itself, while 憂き目 emphasizes the painful experience of undergoing that misfortune.
Etymology Compound of 災 (calamity, misfortune) and 難 (difficulty, hardship). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the combination has been used to mean 'misfortune' or 'calamity' since classical times.
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