Natural Disasters in Chinese 自然灾害
zìrán zāihài
Natural disaster in Chinese is 自然灾害 (zì rán zāi hài).
Also searched for as: extreme weather, earthquake, typhoon, flood.
When the weather turns dangerous? 15 essential extreme weather & disasters words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
The term for a natural disaster in Chinese is 自然灾害 (zì rán zāi hài), and the words in this list are the ones you'll hear in news reports and official weather warnings. Some are useful wherever you live, like 打雷 (dǎ léi), thunder, and 暴雨 (bào yǔ), a downpour, while others, such as 台风 (tái fēng), typhoon, are a regular part of life in southern China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 自然灾害 | zì rán zāi hài | natural disaster |
| 地震 | dì zhèn | earthquake |
| 台风 | tái fēng | typhoon |
| 暴雨 | bào yǔ | rainstorm |
| 洪水 | hóng shuǐ | flood |
| 打雷 | dǎ léi | thunder |
| 闪电 | shǎn diàn | lightning |
| 冰雹 | bīng báo | hail |
| 龙卷风 | lóng juǎn fēng | tornado |
| 干旱 | gān hàn | drought |
| 高温 | gāo wēn | heatwave; high temperature |
| 暴雪 | bào xuě | blizzard |
| 山火 | shān huǒ | wildfire |
| 预警 | yù jǐng | warning |
| 安全 | ān quán | safe |
Usage tips
- Disasters usually take the verb 发生 (fā shēng), to happen: 发生了地震 (fā shēng le dì zhèn), 'there was an earthquake'.
- Mainland weather warnings, 预警 (yù jǐng), are colour-coded from blue through yellow and orange to red, so 红色预警 (hóng sè yù jǐng) is the most serious level.
- The prefix 暴 (bào), violent, turns ordinary weather into extreme weather: 暴雨 (bào yǔ), rainstorm, 暴雪 (bào xuě), blizzard, 暴风 (bào fēng), gale.
Common mistakes
- Saying 有雷 for "there's thunder" → natives say 打雷了 (dǎ léi le).
- Calling an Atlantic hurricane a 台风 → 台风 (tái fēng) is used for storms in the western Pacific; a hurricane is 飓风 (jù fēng).
Mini dialogue
- A你看新闻了吗？台风明天就到了。Nǐ kàn xīn wén le ma? Tái fēng míng tiān jiù dào le.Have you seen the news? The typhoon's arriving tomorrow.
- B看了，已经发布了暴雨预警。Kàn le, yǐ jīng fā bù le bào yǔ yù jǐng.Yes, they've already issued a rainstorm warning.
- A明天学校停课吗？Míng tiān xué xiào tíng kè ma?Is school closed tomorrow?
- B停课，大家最好待在家里，注意安全。Tíng kè, dà jiā zuì hǎo dāi zài jiā lǐ, zhù yì ān quán.Yes. Everyone had better stay at home and stay safe.
Example sentences
- 今年的自然灾害很多。There have been lots of natural disasters this year.
- 昨天晚上发生了地震。There was an earthquake last night.
- 台风明天到。The typhoon arrives tomorrow.
- 暴雨下了一整天。It poured with rain all day.
- 洪水淹了很多房子。The flood submerged lots of houses.
- 外面在打雷。It's thundering outside.
- 天上有闪电。There's lightning in the sky.
- 下冰雹了！It's hailing!
- 龙卷风很危险。Tornadoes are dangerous.
- 今年夏天很干旱。This summer has been very dry.
- 这几天有高温。There's a heatwave these days.
- 暴雪让学校停课了。The blizzard closed the schools.
- 山火烧了一个星期。The wildfire burned for a week.
- 发布了暴雨预警。A rainstorm warning has been issued.
- 大家都很安全。Everyone is safe.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Extreme weather & disasters speaking island has 8 everyday questions about extreme weather & disasters to prepare your own answers to.