About
The character 癞 (lài) is a phono-semantic compound derived from the traditional form 癩. As a noun or adjective, it primarily refers to skin diseases such as leprosy or scabies, often involving lesions or hair loss. Its structure combines the semantic radical 疒 (chuáng), indicating sickness, with the phonetic component 赖 (lài), which provides the pronunciation. While it has a specific medical meaning, the term also extends colloquially to describe animals with rough or unsightly skin, as in 癞蛤蟆 (làiháma, "toad"), and can metaphorically imply something mangy or aesthetically unpleasing.