恶魔 (è mó) — demon; devil

Definition

noun
demondevil
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 恶魔。
    è mó Shì shén huà zhōng de xié è shēng wù.
    Demons are evil creatures in mythology.
  • 恶魔。
    Nà ge huài rén jiù xiàng è mó yí yàng cán rěn.
    That bad person is as cruel as a demon.
  • 恶魔。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng jiǎng shù le yí gè è mó de gù shi.
    This movie tells a story about a demon.

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
魔módemon

恶 means evil and 魔 means demon, so the whole names an evil demon.

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 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鬼鬼guǐdemon
Sound part声符shēngfú
麻
麻má魔mó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

魔 pairs 鬼, meaning demon, with 麻, which gives the sound.

Open 魔 →
Appears in
Mythology & Folklore2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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