戾

lì

户 + 犬

Definitions

lì to bend; to violate; to go against; ruthless and tyrannical

Etymology

Depicts a dog (犬) bending its body to get out from under a door (户).

About

戾 (lì) is an adjective or noun meaning violence, cruelty, perversity, or grave offense. The character combines 户 (door) on top and 犬 (dog) below, originally depicting a dog bending its body to squeeze out from under a door. This image of struggle and constraint evolved into abstract senses of going against the norm and perverse behavior, eventually hardening into the dominant modern meaning of brutal violence, as in 暴戾 (bàolì), ruthless and deeply unreasonable.