Japan chooses the Chinese character for DISASTER as its defining symbol of 2018 after 12 months of floods, earthquakes and storms

在经历了12个月的洪水、地震和风暴之后，日本选择汉字“灾”作为2018年的年度汉字

Japan has selected the Chinese character for 'disaster' as its defining symbol for 2018, a year that saw the country hit by deadly floods, earthquakes and storms.

日本选择汉字“灾”作为2018年的年度汉字，这一年日本遭受了致命的洪水、地震和风暴的袭击。

Japanese TV stations broadcast the annual announcement, with Seihan Mori, master of the ancient Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto, writing the character on a huge white panel with an ink-soaked calligraphy brush.

日本电视台直播了这一年度公告，京都清水寺的住持森清范用毛笔在一块巨大的白色纸板上写下了这个汉字。

Organisers of the event, the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, said: 'Many people experienced the threat of natural disasters such as earthquakes, heavy rain, typhoons and heatwaves.'

此次活动的组织者日本汉字能力检定协会表示:“很多人都经历过地震、暴雨、台风和热浪等自然灾害的威胁。”

At the end of every year, the general public votes for the Chinese character they think embodies the key news and events of the previous 12 months.

每年年底，公众都会投票选出他们认为最能代表过去12个月重要新闻和事件的汉字。

A total of 20,858 people out of 193,214 chose the character 'disaster'.

在193,214人中，共有20,858人选择了“灾”字。

The country was hit by a series of natural disasters in 2018, starting with massive flooding in western regions that killed over 200 people.

2018年，日本遭受了一系列自然灾害，最早是西部地区的特大洪水，造成200多人死亡。

It was also battered by a typhoon that inundated a major international airport, and an earthquake in the north that triggered landslides and disrupted supply lines.

之后还遭受了台风的袭击，淹没了一个主要的国际机场，以及北部地震引发的山体滑坡和供电线路中断。

An 'unprecedented' heatwave also struck the country over the summer, causing more than 150 deaths, with over 80,000 people hospitalised.

今年夏天，一场“前所未有”的热浪袭击了日本，造成150多人死亡，8万多人入院。

The series of disasters hit GDP, with the country's economy shrinking in the three months to September.

这一系列灾难冲击响了日本GDP，日本经济在截至9月底的三个月中出现萎缩。

Organisers cited a 42-year-old woman from quake-battered northern Hokkaido, who said: 'I was reminded of how scary natural disasters are. The power went out immediately after the quake and I spent days for the first time without electricity.'

一位来自北海道北部地震灾区的42岁妇女称：“这让我想起了自然灾害有多可怕。地震发生后，立即断电，我第一次经历好几天没电的日子。”

Last year, Japan picked 'North', following a series of North Korean missile launches.

去年，在朝鲜发射了一系列导弹后，日本选择了“北”字作为年度汉字。

The year before the choice was 'gold', in celebration of the success of Japanese athletes at the Rio Olympics.

前年的年度汉字为“金”，以庆祝日本运动员在里约热内卢奥运会上取得的成就。

Chinese characters, or Kanji, are widely used in Japanese, along with other types of alphabets.

汉字和其他类型的字母在日语中广泛使用。

英国每日邮报读者评论：

译文来源：三泰虎 http://www.santaihu.com/46686.html   译者：Jessica.Wu

外文：https://www.dailymail.co.uk

steveh2731, MALVERN, United Kingdom, 8 hours ago

I wonder if they used that character after Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

我想知道在广岛和长崎遭受原子弹后，他们是否也选择了这个灾字。

Twosides2it, London, United Kingdom, 9 hours ago

Weather manipulation.

受天气操控。

Legion5, Point Frederick, Australia, 10 hours ago

We chose that character to define our current government.

我们选择用这个字来形容现任政府。

ScorchersUnited, Sydney, Australia, 11 hours ago

If only there was a character for ''stop eating whales''.

要是有个汉字能表示“停止吃鲸鱼”就好了。