災厄(さいやく)

さいやく
noun
calamity; disaster; misfortune
1. calamity; disaster; catastrophe; misfortune
A serious misfortune or disaster, often with a sense of being brought by fate or forces beyond human control. More literary and weighty than everyday words for trouble.
災厄(さいやく)に見舞(みま)われる。
To be struck by calamity.
人々(ひとびと)は災厄(さいやく)から身(み)を守(まも)るために祈(いの)った。
People prayed to protect themselves from disaster.
戦争(せんそう)は人類(じんるい)にとって最大(さいだい)の災厄(さいやく)であると言(い)われている。
War is said to be the greatest calamity for humankind.

A compound of 災(さい) (disaster) + 厄(やく) (misfortune/evil). A literary word that conveys a grave, almost fateful quality. Often used in written and formal contexts.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 災厄(さいやく)に見舞(みま)われる: to be struck by calamity
  • 災厄(さいやく)を逃(のが)れる: to escape disaster
  • 災厄(さいやく)を払(はら)う: to ward off calamity
  • 災厄(さいやく)から守(まも)る: to protect from disaster

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 災害(さいがい): disaster — the standard term for natural disasters (earthquake, flood, etc.)
  • 厄災(やくさい): calamity — nearly synonymous; reversed character order
  • 惨事(さんじ): terrible event, tragedy — emphasizes the horrifying nature
  • 天災(てんさい): natural disaster — specifically disasters of natural origin
general
Added 2026.4.9 2:31
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