祸害

• Pinyin: huò hai
• Hanzi breakdown: 祸 = 礻+ 呙 (spirit/omen + crooked — an omen of calamity); 害 = 宀 + 丰 + 口 (roof + abundance + mouth — harm concealed under abundance)

Meaning

A scourge; harmful person or thing; harm or damage caused. As a verb, to harm, ruin, or cause trouble for someone or something.

Can refer to a person who causes repeated harm to others or to society (this person is a 祸害), a harmful phenomenon, or the act of damaging something. In colloquial speech, 祸害 can be used humorously to mean ruining or wasting something good.

Examples

1. 这名惯犯多年来在社区内横行霸道，是当地居民眼中的一大祸害。 This repeat offender has run roughshod over the community for years and is seen by locals as a major scourge.
2. 无节制地开采矿产资源不仅祸害了当地生态，也给子孙后代留下了难以修复的创伤。 Unrestricted mining not only devastates the local ecosystem, it also leaves future generations with wounds that are hard to repair.
3. 贪腐现象是社会肌体上的毒瘤，是公平正义的祸害，必须坚决予以铲除。 Corruption is a cancer on society and a blight on fairness and justice, and it must be resolutely eradicated.

Usage Guide

Context: social critique, ethics, colloquial

Tone: critical

Do Say

• 网络谣言是信息生态的一大祸害，它以惊人的速度传播，对公众认知造成了严重的扭曲。(Internet rumours are a great scourge of the information ecosystem; they spread at alarming speed, severely distorting public perception.)
• 这条政策一旦实施，势必祸害无辜的中小企业主，必须在出台前进行充分的社会影响评估。(Once this policy is implemented, it will inevitably harm innocent small and medium enterprise owners; a thorough social impact assessment must be conducted before it is introduced.)

Don't Say

• 你是个大祸害 — while common in colloquial speech, this phrasing is highly offensive in formal or professional contexts; use 你的行为造成了很大危害 instead

Origin & History

祸 (disaster/calamity) + 害 (harm/injure)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal