好歹
hǎo dǎi · HSK 7
whatever
👍👎 好 (good) + 歹 (bad) = good-and-bad; the two extremes paired, so it spans whatever happens
好 is good, 歹 is the 'bad/evil' radical seen in 死 and 残. Pairing the two opposites gives a word meaning the whole range from best to worst — hence 'in any case, whatever the outcome'. 歹 dǎi also shows up in 歹徒 (a bad guy/villain).
好 — woman 女 + child 子
好 is an associative compound showing a woman 女 beside a child 子, depicting a mother with her baby. From this image of maternal affection it came to mean 'good, fine, pleasing.' The reading hǎo means 'good'; read hào it means 'to like.'