About
蜮 is a mythological aquatic creature from Chinese folklore that ambushed people by spitting sand at their shadows, causing illness or misfortune. It combines the semantic radical 虫 (indicating an insect, reptile, or lower animal) on the left with the phonetic component 或 on the right. Because of this stealthy and indirect mode of attack, the character's meaning expanded to denote treacherous individuals, and it is used in literary idioms to describe malicious plots, sneaky tricks, and underhanded tactics executed from behind the scenes.
Etymology Hide
Report an issue
Flag incorrect definitions, examples, etymology, etc.