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disaster, calamity

JLPT N1 Grade 5 7 strokes
Kun'yomi
わざわ.い
On'yomi
サイ

災 means "disaster, calamity". It is a JLPT N1 kanji written in 7 strokes. It is read わざわ.い in native Japanese words (kun'yomi) and サイ in compounds (on'yomi). Japanese schoolchildren learn it in grade 5.

Stroke order & writing

Stroke-order and animation sources are on our credits page.

災 in example sentences

  • Arashi wa, ooku no saigai o hikiokoshita.

    The storm caused many disasters.

  • Saigai ga tatetsuzuke ni sono chiiki o osotta.

    A string of disasters struck the region.

Example sentences from the Tatoeba Project, CC-BY 2.0 FR, licensed for reuse.

Words that use 災

Common questions

What does the kanji 災 mean?
災 means "disaster, calamity". It is a JLPT N1 kanji.
How many strokes does 災 have?
災 is written in 7 strokes.
How is 災 read?
It is read わざわ.い in native Japanese words (kun'yomi) and サイ in compounds (on'yomi).
What JLPT level is 災?
災 is a JLPT N1 kanji.