魉 (liǎng): (in 魍魉) a water and forest demon

Meanings

魍魉藏在密林深处。

Wǎng liǎng

Demons of mountain and water lurked in the deep forest.

各种奸人就像魑魅魍魉。

Chī mèi wǎng liǎng.

All kinds of crafty villains are like monsters and evil spirits.

culture

魉 is a bound character used only in 魍魉. The four-character 魑魅魍魉 is a vivid idiom for villains and bad people of every stripe.

radical

鬼 guǐ

ghost; demon

鬼 is the ghost radical, marking this as a supernatural creature and indexing it among the demon and spirit characters.

phonetic

两 liǎng

two; both

两 supplies the sound liǎng, matching its own reading exactly. It serves purely as the phonetic element with no bearing on the demon meaning.

魉 liǎng