天てん災さい地ち変へん

て

ん

さ

い

ち

へ

ん

Meanings

1

noun

natural disaster; calamity of nature

yojijukugo (four-character idiom)

A formal yojijukugo referring to natural disasters and extraordinary terrestrial upheavals, often used in legal or official contexts.

契けい約やく書しょには

天てん

災さい

地ち

変へん

に

よる

免めん

責せき

条じょう

項こう

が

含ふく

ま

れ

て

いる

。

The contract includes a force majeure clause for natural disasters.

天てん災さい地ち変へんが起おきた場ば合あい、この保ほ険けんが適てき用ようされます。

This insurance applies in the event of a natural disaster.

Kanji

天heavens, sky, imperial
災disaster, calamity, woe
地ground, earth
変unusual, change, strange

Related words

天てん災さい
天災 is a more common, everyday word for natural disaster, while 天災地変 is a formal, emphatic compound often used in legal or official documents.
自し然ぜん災さい害がい
自然災害 is the standard modern term for natural disaster; 天災地変 carries a more classical, formal nuance and may include extraordinary terrestrial changes.

Built from

天てん災さい+地ち変へん

Etymology

A yojijukugo composed of 天 (heaven/nature), 災 (disaster), 地 (earth), and 変 (change/upheaval), literally 'heavenly disaster and earthly upheaval'. The exact historical origin is uncertain, but it follows a common pattern of pairing natural and terrestrial calamities for emphasis.