旱

• Pinyin: hàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 旱 = 日 (sun) + 干 (dry) — the sun causing dryness

Meaning

Dry; drought-stricken — describes conditions of insufficient rainfall or moisture, causing dryness and water scarcity.

Functions primarily as a modifier in compounds rather than as a standalone adjective. Common compounds: 旱地 (dryland), 旱季 (dry season), 旱涝 (drought and flood). Distinct from 干旱 (severe drought, standalone adjective). Used across agricultural, meteorological, and environmental contexts.

Examples

1. 受持续高温少雨天气影响，今年该省北部地区的农业生产形势极为严峻。 Because of the ongoing heat and lack of rain, the outlook for agricultural production in the northern part of the province is extremely grim this year.
2. 村民们世代在旱地上耕作，培育出了多个适应干旱气候的特色农作物品种。 For generations, villagers have farmed dryland fields and developed several distinctive crop varieties adapted to arid climates.
3. 气象专家预测，由于厄尔尼诺现象影响，本年度华北平原将出现罕见的旱涝交替天气格局。 Meteorologists predict that due to the effects of El Niño, the North China Plain will see an unusual pattern this year, alternating between drought and flooding.

Usage Guide

Context: agriculture, meteorology, geography, environment

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 连续三个月的高温少雨导致该地区旱情持续加重，当地政府已启动一级抗旱应急预案。(Three consecutive months of high temperature and scant rainfall caused the drought situation in the area to worsen continuously, and the local government has activated the Level-1 drought emergency response plan.)
• 这种耐旱作物即使在极度缺水的旱地上也能维持基本生长，是干旱地区粮食安全的重要保障。(This drought-resistant crop can maintain basic growth even in extremely water-scarce dryland, and is an important safeguard for food security in arid regions.)

Don't Say

• 旱 as a standalone predicate adjective in formal writing — 旱 functions mainly as a modifier in compounds; use 干旱 as a standalone adjective meaning 'arid/drought-stricken'

Origin & History

Pictographic character — originally depicted a sun with its scorching effect upon the earth

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal