恶
è · HSK 7
evil
😈 亚 sub + 心 heart — a lesser heart turns evil
The top component 亚 means second-rate or inferior. Below it sits 心, heart. A heart that falls below standard becomes wicked — evil starts when the heart goes bad.
恶 — 亚 (yà) phonetic + 心 (heart) below
A semantic-phonetic compound: the heart radical 心 carries the meaning, while 亚 supplies the sound. Originally written 惡, it depicted a 'heart' beneath 亞, suggesting feelings of dislike or hatred. Over time it extended from 'to hate' (wù) to 'evil, bad' (è).