嫌疑
xiányí · HSK 7
suspicion
🕵️ 嫌 (dislike/suspect) + 疑 (doubt) = suspicion; the doubt you hold against someone
Both characters carry distrust: 嫌 is to suspect or hold a grudge, 疑 is to doubt. Stacked together they name the cloud of suspicion that hangs over a suspect. Sound-alike: xiányí echoes shyan-ee, the wary hum of a detective who doubts your story.
嫌 — woman radical 女 + 兼 (combine, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 女 (woman) suggests the meaning, while 兼 supplies the sound. The original sense related to suspicion or dislike, possibly tied to social judgments. Over time it broadened to mean 'to dislike,' 'to suspect,' or 'to find objectionable.'