凶手
xiōng shoǔ · HSK 6
murderer
🔪 凶手 = fierce + hand — the vicious hand that kills
凶 (xiōng) alone means fierce or ominous. 手 (shǒu) means hand. Together they literally name the 'evil hand' — the person who carried out the killing.
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).
手 — pictograph of a hand with five fingers
手 is a pictograph showing an open hand with fingers and a wrist. Early bronze and oracle bone forms clearly depict five splayed fingers, which simplified over time into the modern shape. It keeps its original meaning of 'hand' and also serves as a radical in many characters related to hand actions.