凶恶
xiōng è · HSK 7
fierce
👹 凶 (fierce) + 恶 (evil) = fierce + wicked, i.e. ferocious
Both characters carry a hostile sense: 凶 means fierce or inauspicious, and 恶 (also è) means evil or wicked. Stacked together they intensify into ferocious or fiendish. Note 恶 here is è (evil), not ě (nausea) or wù (to hate).
凶 — 凵 (open container) + 㐅 (crossed lines marking a pit)
凶 is a pictograph showing a pit or hole (凵) with crossed lines inside, marking a dangerous trap one could fall into. From this image of a hazard, the character came to mean 'inauspicious,' 'fierce,' or 'ominous,' and is the opposite of 吉 (auspicious).
恶 — 亚 (yà) phonetic + 心 (heart) below
A semantic-phonetic compound: the heart radical 心 carries the meaning, while 亚 supplies the sound. Originally written 惡, it depicted a 'heart' beneath 亞, suggesting feelings of dislike or hatred. Over time it extended from 'to hate' (wù) to 'evil, bad' (è).