毒魔 (dú mó) — poisonous demon; evil spirit

Definition

noun

poisonous demonevil spirit

Measure word · 个

毒魔。
Zhè ge chuán shuō zhōng yǒu yí gè kě pà de dú mó.
There is a terrible poisonous demon in this legend.
毒魔。
dú mó De chū xiàn ràng zhěng gè cūn zhuāng xiàn rù le kǒng huāng.
The appearance of the poisonous demon plunged the whole village into panic.
毒魔。
Tā xiàng dú mó yí yàng xié è.
He is as evil as a poisonous demon.

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.

"毒" poison and "魔" demon combine to mean a poisonous demon or evil spirit.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

屮屮chèvegetation

Sound part声符shēngfú

毐

毐ǎi毒dú

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

毒 pairs 屮, a plant part, with 毐 as a sound part; this form was used for a poisonous plant.

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

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.