About
吒 (zhā or zhà) is a phono-semantic compound: the mouth radical 口 (kǒu) on the left indicates vocalization, speech, or sound, while the right component 乇 (zhé or tuō) provides the pronunciation and historically depicted a blade of grass or sprout. Its primary lexical meaning is to shout angrily, roar, or express vehement disapproval, often appearing in classical texts for fierce vocalizations. In Chinese culture, however, the character's most prominent role is as a phonetic transcription in Buddhist texts and mythology, particularly in the name of the deity Nezha (哪吒), where it functions purely as a transliteration rather than conveying the original sense of angry shouting.
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