邪 xié wrong
wrong; evil; demonic
怎么记住“邪”: 牙 tooth + 阝 mound = wrong. The boy hides his loose tooth under a mound of sand instead of his pillow, and his sister, dramatic as ever, calls it wrong.
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound · 假借 borrowed for its sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
邪 = 牙 tooth + 阝 mound
- 牙 tooth sound
- 阝 mound meaning
The boy hides his loose tooth under a mound of sand instead of his pillow, and his sister, dramatic as ever, calls it wrong.
How it came to be
The town gives the meaning and the tooth the sound: first a place name, later borrowed for wrong and evil.
用法
- 'Evil/heretical/improper': 邪恶 (xié'è) evil, 邪教 (xiéjiào) a cult, 改邪归正 (gǎixié-guīzhèng) to mend one's ways.
- Opposed to 正 (zhèng, upright/orthodox); the 正/邪 pairing is the standard good-vs-evil axis.
- Colloquially 邪门儿 (xiéménr) means weird/uncanny: 这事儿真邪门 (zhè shìr zhēn xiémén) this is downright bizarre.