天災
てんさい · tensai · JLPT N1 · noun
calamity
🌋 天 (heaven/nature) + 災 (calamity) = a calamity sent by nature, like a quake or flood
Use 天災 only for natural disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons, and floods. Man-made disasters use 人災 (human + calamity) instead, so the 天 part marks nature.
天 — 一 (one/sky) above 大 (big person)
Originally a pictograph of a person (大) with an emphasized head, representing what is above — the sky or heavens. The top stroke evolved into 一, symbolizing the vast expanse overhead. From 'sky' it extended to mean 'day,' 'heaven,' and 'nature.'