peaceful
disaster
•• . pnson
!J..!..
disaster
(zai1)
This character is a combination of 'roof' and 'fire'. I think anyone with a burning roof would consider it a disaster! This is the simplified form; the
m,,
traditional form is a combination of 'river' and 'fire'.
.1]<j;z
flood (shui
3
1 zai )
water + disaster
......................... ·-····· ..................................,.
home
3:( peaceful (an)
~ prison (liao 2 )
This is a more positive compound featuring the building block for 'woman'. Remember that, traditionally, a peaceful home was one run by a woman.
Cows and buffalo were used as beasts of burden. The orig ina l meaning of this compound was 'pen ', but it has since been extended to mean 'prison' when used as a noun.
In ancient China, pigs were raised indoors to keep them safe. Pigs in the house then became associated with a bountiful home. This cha~acter also means 'family'.
' 1' m f.1re d .isaster AX
~~ natural disaster
7\ ~
( huo 3 za i1) fire + disaster
(tian 1 zajl) sky + disaster
~
~··························-·············
1
everybody (da4 jial) big + home
......... ' ............................................................................ ' .....................................-......................... ···-··· ................................. ROOF COMPOUNDS AND PHRASES
93