邪

衺

xié

牙 + 阝

HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

xié (adjective) evil; demonic; nefarious

xié (noun) unhealthy influences causing disease (in Chinese medicine)

xié (adjective) strange; abnormal

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 牙 represents the sound and ⻏ represents the meaning. Based on the original use as a place name. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

About

The character 邪 denotes evil, demonic influences, depraved conduct, and anything unorthodox, unhealthy, or morally aberrant. It is constructed as a phonosemantic compound, with the radical 阝 (yì) , meaning 'city' or 'region' , on the right, and 牙 (yá) , meaning 'tooth' , on the left, serving as the phonetic component. This combination was initially devised to write a specific place name, a fact reflected in the locational radical. Over time, 邪 was phonetically borrowed to represent the word for maleficent spirits, corruption, and heterodoxy, a word that merely sounded similar to the original place name but shared no semantic link with teeth or cities. This loan usage completely supplanted the original toponymic sense, and today the character is used exclusively for its borrowed meanings.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Late Warring States (~250 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这个人的想法很邪恶。

Zhège rén de xiǎngfǎ hěn xié'è.

This person's thoughts are very evil.

他认为自己中了邪。

Tā rènwéi zìjǐ zhòngle xié.

He believes he has been possessed by evil spirits.

我们要坚决抵制邪教组织。

Wǒmen yào jiānjué dǐzhì xiéjiào zǔzhī.

We must resolutely resist cult organizations.

感冒多由风邪入侵引起。

Gǎnmào duō yóu fēngxié rùqīn yǐnqǐ.

Colds are often caused by the invasion of pathogenic wind.

驱邪仪式并没有实际效果。

Qūxié yíshì bìng méiyǒu shíjì xiàoguǒ.

The exorcism ritual has no practical effect.

那笑容里透着一股邪气。

Nà xiàoróng lǐ tòu zhe yī gǔ xiéqì.

There was a hint of wickedness in that smile.

社会上的歪风邪气必须纠正。

Shèhuì shàng de wāifēng xiéqì bìxū jiūzhèng.

The corrupt trends in society must be corrected.

他正邪莫辨的态度让人困惑。

Tā zhèng xié mò biàn de tàidù ràng rén kùnhuò.

His ambiguous attitude, indistinguishably right or wrong, is confusing.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 牙

Component: 阝

邪