About
The character "魍" is a phono-semantic compound incorporating the radical 鬼, which denotes ghost or demon, and the phonetic component 罔, providing the sound "wǎng". It occurs almost exclusively within the disyllabic term "魍魉", which in early Chinese literature referred to specific mountain demons or spirits. The meaning of "魍魉" later expanded to encompass a wider variety of malevolent supernatural beings or eerie creatures in mythological and folk contexts. Its structure consistently ties the character to supernatural themes through the radical 鬼, while the component 罔 continues to signal its pronunciation.