Meaning

Primary

Disaster

Alternative

Misfortune

Word Type

noun

Explanation

This is the noun form of disaster, so it means disaster or misfortune.

Reading

わざわい
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

Think about how, the last time disaster struck, it was a while (わざわ) before things got back to normal.

Be careful of the on the end, it can be tricky and make you think it's an adjective when it's a noun.

Context

Context Sentences

このお守りが、きっとあなたを災いから守ってくれるでしょう。

This amulet will surely protect you from disaster.

その人形が、この村に多くの災いをもたらしたんです。

That doll brought a lot of misfortune to this village.

口は災いの元だよ。

The mouth is the source of calamity.

Kanji Composition