The word 邪恶 is formed through the conceptual merging of two characters, each carrying a weight of negative moral judgment. The first character, 邪 (xié), conveys a sense of deviance, crookedness, or heresy, something that departs from the proper path or correct doctrine. It is combined with 恶 (è), which directly means evil, wickedness, or malicious intent. Together, they do not simply add but compound and intensify each other, where 邪 describes a corrupting, deviant nature and 恶 defines its core as actively malevolent, resulting in a term that signifies a profound, morally corrupt evil.