责怪
zé guài · HSK 7
to blame
👉 责 (reproach/duty) + 怪 (find fault) = pile two blame-words together = to blame
Both characters carry the sense of fault-finding: 责 is reproach or holding-to-account, 怪 is to blame or find odd. Stack the two synonyms and you get 责怪, to blame or rebuke. Sounds like dzuh-gwai.
怪 — heart radical 忄 + 圣 (phonetic)
怪 combines the heart radical 忄, suggesting feelings or mental states, with 圣 serving as a phonetic component. The original sense relates to something strange or uncanny that provokes wonder or unease in the heart. It now broadly means 'strange,' 'odd,' or 'to blame.'