Learn 害 in words about harm, damage and disasters. Connect each reading to a whole word and its context.

The idea

害 has 10 strokes and is read がい in the words here. Study 害（がい）, 被害（ひがい）, 災害（さいがい） and 有害（ゆうがい） as complete words; use the linked diagram for stroke order.

Patterns to compare
WordReading
害がい
被害ひがい
災害さいがい
有害ゆうがい

Examples

  • 喫煙きつえんは健康けんこうに害がいを与あたえます。Smoking harms health.
  • 台風たいふうで大おおきな被害ひがいが出でました。The typhoon caused serious damage.
  • 地震じしんの被害ひがいを確認かくにんしました。We checked the damage from the earthquake.
  • 町まちは災害さいがいに備そなえています。The town prepares for disasters.
  • この物質ぶっしつは体からだに有害ゆうがいです。This substance is harmful to the body.
  • 作物さくもつが虫むしの害がいを受うけました。The crops suffered damage from insects.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

被害 is damage suffered, while 災害 is a disaster that may cause damage. 有害 is a な-adjective: 有害な物質 means a harmful substance. Do not confuse 害 with the similar-looking 割.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 被害 in hiragana.

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    ひがい

    被害 is ひがい: it means damage suffered, as in damage from an earthquake.

  2. Write the reading of 災害 in hiragana.

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    さいがい

    災害 is さいがい: it means a disaster, as in preparing for disasters.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 有＿（ゆうがい）［害／割］.

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    害

    害 completes 有害（ゆうがい）, meaning harmful; 割 does not form this word.

Use it today

Write 害 following the diagram. Cover the readings, read 被害 and 災害, then make a sentence using one of them.