魅 (mèi) · demon; evil spirit

Meanings

1 demon; evil spirit
2 charm; enchantment

Characters

魅

mèi

demon; charm; enchantment

Examples

HSK 5

她有一种独特的魅力。

Tā yǒu yī zhǒng dútè de mèilì.

She has a unique charm.

HSK 7-9

这座古堡充满了魑魅魍魉的传说。

Zhè zuò gǔbǎo chōngmǎn le chīmèi-wǎngliǎng de chuánshuō.

This ancient castle is full of legends about demons and spirits.

Tips

memory

魅 has the ghost radical 鬼 on the left plus 未 (not yet) - a spirit that has not yet shown itself, lurking with hidden charm.

usage

Rarely used alone. Most common in: 魅力 (charm/charisma), 魅惑 (bewitch), 魑魅魍魉 (demons and monsters - a literary idiom).

Components

radical

鬼 guǐ

ghost; demon

Left ghost radical - a top-heavy pictograph of a masked spirit-figure with floating tail-stroke below. The indexing radical here, placing 魅 in the supernatural family alongside 魂 soul, 魄 spirit, 魔 demon. Originally 魅 named the seductive forest goblin (魑魅) thought to lure travelers astray.

phonetic

未 wèi

not yet (here phonetic)

Right 未 supplies the sound, shifting wèi → mèi through a w/m alternation common in older readings. No semantic contribution. The modern senses of 'charm' and 'enchant' (魅力 charm, allure) bloomed from the older 'bewitching forest demon' meaning - what once terrified peasants now flatters celebrities.