猛烈
もうれつ · mouretsu · JLPT N1 · na-adj
violent
🌪️ 猛 = fierce beast; 烈 = fierce fire: a fierce beast on a blazing, violent rampage
猛 (měng) means fierce like a wild animal, 烈 (liè) means intense like fire. Together, mouretsu describes violence that burns out of control.
猛 — dog radical 犭 + 孟 (mèng, phonetic)
猛 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The dog radical 犭 indicates a fierce animal, while 孟 (mèng) supplies the sound. Originally describing a ferocious hunting dog, its meaning broadened to 'fierce, violent, vigorous' for anything intense.