受害
shòuhài · HSK 7
to suffer damage, injury etc; damaged
🤕 受 (receive) + 害 (harm) = receive harm, fall victim
受 means receive or suffer; 害 means harm or injury. Glued together they spell taking harm onto yourself, i.e. suffering loss or becoming the victim. The same 受 shows up in 接受 (accept) and 害 in 害怕 (be afraid of harm).
受 — hand 爫 (top) + 冖 + hand 又 (bottom)
Originally a pictograph showing two hands passing an object (the middle 冖 represented a boat or tray) between them. It depicted the act of giving and receiving, so the character meant both 'to give' and 'to receive.' Later 授 was created with the hand radical 扌 to mean 'give,' leaving 受 to mean 'receive' or 'accept.'
害 — 宀 roof + 丯 (phonetic) + 口 mouth
Originally an ideograph showing harm spoken under a roof, with 宀 (roof/house) on top, a phonetic element 丯 in the middle, and 口 (mouth) below suggesting harmful speech. Over time it shifted from 'injury caused by words' to the broader senses of 'harm,' 'injure,' and 'fear.'