The word 活该 is formed by combining two characters to create a conceptually causal and moral judgment. The first character, 活 (huó), meaning "to live" or "life", here carries an archaic implication of "naturally" or "inevitably". It is paired with 该 (gāi), meaning "ought to" or "deserve". Together, they forge an expression where an unfortunate outcome is seen as the natural and directly deserved consequence of one's own prior actions, as if fate itself is collecting a moral debt that was always owed.