TSUMUGU · B1 (est.) · 字
災
災 ＝ 巛 ＋ 火
ㄗㄞ · zāi
noun — disaster, calamity
字源 FORM — what the parts do
巛義a flooding river — three flowing lines
The old graph carries two tellings. In one, the head form 烖 is fire (火) with 𢦏 zāi for the sound — the same phonetic that drives 栽 (to plant), 裁 (to cut out), 載 (to load). In the other, the variant 災 stacks flood (巛, a river overrunning its banks) above fire (火), the two great destroyers in one word. Either way: calamity, disaster (災難, 天災). From the event, the things around it: 災區 (the disaster zone), 救災 (relief), 災民 (the stricken).
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
洪水（巛）壓頂，烈火（火）在下，水火夾擊。
Flood (巛) overhead, fire (火) below — caught between the water and the flames.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)災難、天災— disaster, calamity常用
→災區、救災— disaster zone; relief常用
⇒災禍、災害— calamity, ruin
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension