罪魁祸首
zuì kuí huò shoǔ · HSK 7
ringleader
🥷 罪 crime + 魁 chief + 祸 disaster + 首 head = the crime-chief, disaster-head behind it all
Four characters stack two leader-words: 魁 (chief) and 首 (head) both mean ringleader, while 罪 (crime) and 祸 (disaster) name what they caused. The repetition of head/chief is what makes it the MAIN culprit, not just any offender.
罪 — net 罒 (top) + wrong 非 (bottom)
罪 combines 罒 (net) over 非 (wrong), suggesting catching wrongdoing in a net. Originally the character 辠 (with 自 nose + 辛 punishment) meant 'crime,' but Emperor Qin Shi Huang found 辠 too similar to 皇 (emperor) and replaced it with 罪. Today it means crime, guilt, or sin.
首 — hair 丷 over face 自 (eye + nose)
首 is a pictograph of a head, originally drawn with hair on top and a face below (containing the eye element 目). It meant 'head' literally, then extended to 'chief, leader, first' since the head is the topmost and foremost part of the body.