邪 (xié) · evil, wicked, heretical

Meanings

1 evil
2 wicked
3 heretical
4 abnormal

Characters

邪

xié

evil; wicked

Examples

HSK 4

邪不压正。

Xié bù yā zhèng.

Evil cannot prevail over good.

HSK 6

他的笑容看起来有点邪。

Tā de xiàoróng kànqǐlái yǒudiǎn xié.

His smile looks a bit sinister.

Tips

usage

邪 appears in many compounds: 邪恶 (evil), 邪教 (cult), 邪门 (weird/bizarre). On its own it often means 'sinister' or 'not right'.

memory

邪 combines 牙 (tooth) and 阝 (city). Think of a city with sharp teeth - an evil place.

Components

radical

阝 yì

city; town (right-side radical)

Right-side 阝 is the city/town radical - the side-form of 邑 when it sits on the right (versus mound 阜 when on the left). Indexes 邪 in the place-name family with 都, 邦, 部, 邮. The original 邪 was the name of a state in Shandong; only later did it acquire its abstract 'crooked / evil' meaning.

phonetic

牙 yá

tooth; tusk

Left side 牙 supplies the sound (yá → xié, drift through earlier *r-/*l- initials). 牙 itself depicts an animal's interlocking molars - a tooth shown in profile. Same phonetic appears in 雅 elegant, 讶 surprised. The fang-like image carries a faint sinister flavour that suits 邪's meaning of crooked or evil.