凶残
xiōng cán · HSK 7
savage
🐺 凶 fierce + 残 cruel = savage; 凶 also means ominous, 残 also means to harm or maim
凶 (xiōng) carries fierce, violent, ominous; 残 (cán) means cruel, to injure, or leftover remnants. Stacked, they describe brutality that maims rather than mere anger. Sound hook: cán echoes the harm in carnage.
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).
残 — 歹 (bones/death) + 戔 (small/cut, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 歹 (bare bones, death) gives the meaning of harm or ruin, while 戔 (two 戈 spears, suggesting cutting) supplies the sound. Originally meant to injure or destroy, later extended to 'remnant, leftover' — what remains after damage.