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善恶 (shàn ě) — good and evil; virtue and vice

Definition

A literary, abstract pair meaning 'good and evil' as opposing moral forces — used in philosophical, ethical, or narrative discussion (e.g. 之分, 之间的斗争), not casual talk.

noun
good and evilvirtue and vice

Examples

  • 善恶。
    Měi gè rén xīn lǐ dōu yǒu shàn ě.
    Every person has good and evil in their heart.
  • 善恶。
    Wǒ men yào néng fēn qīng shàn ě.
    We must be able to distinguish good from evil.
  • 善恶。
    Zhè běn xiǎo shuō jiǎng shù le shàn ě zhī jiān de dòu zhēng.
    This novel tells the story of the struggle between good and evil.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

善shàngood
恶èevil

善" (good) + "恶" (evil) names good and evil together.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

An earlier form of 善 joined 羊, a sheep linked with goodness or beauty, and 誩, described as a wrangle; the reference says this meaning link is hard to understand.

Open 善 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 惡; 恶 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
亞
亞yā惡è
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 惡 pairs 心 (heart) as the meaning part with 亞 (yā) as the sound part; the simplified 恶 is a later shorthand.

Open 恶 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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