魔王 (mó wáng) — demon king, prince of the devils; tyrant, fiend… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

demon kingprince of the devilstyrantfiend (figurative)

Measure word · 个

Examples

魔王。
Zhè ge mó wáng tǒng zhì zhe hēi àn wáng guó.
This demon king rules the dark kingdom.
魔王，。
Tā zài gōng sī lǐ jiǎn zhí shì gè mó wáng, duì yuán gōng fēi cháng yán lì.
He is practically a tyrant in the company, very strict with employees.
魔王，。
Zhè ge yóu xì lǐ de mó wáng fēi cháng qiáng dà, xū yào hěn duō wán jiā cái néng dǎ bài.
The demon king in this game is very powerful, requiring many players to defeat.

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.

魔 means demon and 王 means king, together giving a king among demons.

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.

麻鬼魔

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.

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

The shape of 王 comes from a picture of a ritual axe, an object kept near a throne and connected with royal power.

Appears in

Mythology & Folklore

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