禍: the kanji for disaster; misfortune

禍 is a JLPT N1 kanji that means disaster; misfortune. Below are its readings, 3 common words and example sentences, all with audio.

disaster; misfortuneMeaning

カOn reading

—Kun reading

13Strokes

Stroke order

禍 is written in 13 strokes. The red stroke is the one to write next, and the dot shows where it starts.

Words by reading

禍 has 1 reading in the official Jōyō Kanji Table. Below are 3 common words grouped by reading. Tap ▶ to hear each word (audio plays with a free account).

カ (ka)

On reading.

Word	Meaning
災禍さいか · saika	disaster; calamity
戦禍せんか · senka	ravages of war
禍根かこん · kakon	root of trouble

Example sentences for work and daily life

町は戦禍を受けて焼けた。Machi wa senka o ukete yaketa.The town burned in the war.
大きな災禍から人々は立ち上がった。Ōki na saika kara hitobito wa tachiagatta.People rose again after a great disaster.
今決めないと将来に禍根を残す。Ima kimenai to shōrai ni kakon o nokosu.If we don't decide now, it will cause trouble later.
戦禍を逃れて多くの人が避難した。Senka o nogarete ōku no hito ga hinan shita.Many people fled the ravages of war.
コロナ禍で働き方が変わった。Korona ka de hatarakikata ga kawatta.The way we work changed during the COVID pandemic.

Questions about 禍

How many strokes does 禍 have?

禍 is written in 13 strokes. The stroke order is shown at the top of this page.

What are the readings of 禍?

The on readings are ka (カ). 禍 has no kun reading in the Jōyō Kanji Table.

What JLPT level is 禍?

N1. The JLPT does not publish official kanji lists, so this level is a guide based on the official Test Content Specifications used through 2009.

About the JLPT level

The JLPT does not publish official lists of kanji for each level. The level on this page is a guide based on the official Test Content Specifications used for the test through 2009. The JLPT states that the current N1 is designed to match the former Level 1.