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凶恶 (xiōng è) — fierce; ferocious; vicious; frightening

Definition

Describes a fierce, threatening look, voice, or appearance that frightens people (gaze, tone, wild animal). More about physical menace than 邪恶 (moral evil) or 凶狠 (savage cruelty).

adjective
fierceferociousviciousfrightening

Examples

  • 凶恶。
    Nà ge dǎi tú de xiōng è yǎn shén ràng rén bù hán ér lì.
    That gangster's ferocious gaze sent chills down people's spines.
  • 凶恶，。
    Zhè tóu shī zi kàn qǐ lái shí fēn xiōng è, yóu kè dōu bù gǎn kào jìn.
    This lion looks extremely ferocious, and tourists dare not approach.
  • 凶恶，。
    Tā shuō huà de yǔ qì hěn xiōng è, hǎo xiàng yào gēn rén dǎ jià.
    His tone of voice was very vicious, as if he was about to fight someone.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

凶xiōngfierce
恶èevil

凶 and 恶 combine fierce and evil qualities, describing a vicious nature.

Characters in this word

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

凶 originally drew a hole with a lump of rock, mud, stone, or bamboo in it.

Open 凶 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Personality & Traits

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