Definition
横祸 refers to an unexpected disaster or misfortune that strikes suddenly and without warning, often from an external source. The character 横 (héng) literally means 'horizontal' or 'crosswise', suggesting something that comes from an unexpected direction. You can use it in phrases like 飞来横祸 (a sudden unexpected calamity) or 遭遇横祸 (to suffer an unexpected disaster).
n.
unexpected calamitysudden misfortune
Examples
- ,横祸。Tā běnlái shēnghuó hěn píngjìng, méi xiǎngdào fēi lái héng.His life was originally very peaceful, but unexpectedly a sudden calamity befell him.
- 横祸。Zhè cì jiāotōng shìgù duì tā lái shuō zhēn shì héng.This traffic accident was truly an unexpected disaster for him.
- 横祸。Shéi yě méi xiǎngdào tā huì zāoyù zhèyàng de héng.No one expected that he would suffer such an unexpected calamity.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.