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恶鬼 (è guǐ) — vicious ghost, evil spirit

Definition

A malevolent supernatural being — an evil or vicious ghost/spirit that harms people. Pairs with 鬼 (ghost), emphasizing the malicious, dangerous nature rather than a generic ghost.

noun
vicious ghostevil spirit
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 恶鬼。
    Chuán shuō zhè zuò miào lǐ zhù zhe yí gè è guǐ.
    Legend says an evil ghost lives in this temple.
  • 恶鬼。
    Tā wǎn shàng mèng jiàn zì jǐ bèi yí gè è guǐ zhuī gǎn.
    He dreamed at night that he was being chased by an evil ghost.
  • 恶鬼。
    Hěn duō rén dōu shuō nà piàn shù lín lǐ yǒu è guǐ chū mò.
    Many people say that forest is haunted by evil spirits.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

恶èevil
鬼guǐghost

Evil 恶 and ghost 鬼 combine to name a vicious ghost.

Characters in this word

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

鬼 originally drew a kneeling figure with an ugly face, perhaps a mask; the small lower right dot is a later added tail.

Open 鬼 →
Appears in
Mythology & Folklore

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