恶 (ě) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

恶

ě[e3]Tone 3

evil, vicious, bad, nausea

HSK 4

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惡

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · evil, vicious, bad, nausea

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Topology:Top-bottom

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The top component (亚) should be compact, while the bottom heart component (心) must be wide and steady to anchor the whole structure.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 惡 preserves a more complex structure containing 亜 and 心, while the simplified form 恶 reduces the top left strokes for quicker writing while keeping the heart base.

1. Meaning

evil, vicious, bad

fierceuglynausea (when used in compounds like 恶心)

AdjectiveFormal / Literary#morality#personality#qualities#sensations

Sample Usage

恶人
è rén
evil person, villain
恶心
ě xīn
nauseous, disgusting

2. Sound

/[ɤ²¹⁴]/Tone: 214

恶

ěe3

ˇ(214)

=ě

Initial Consonant

∅

Type: Zero Initial (Pure Vowel)

Sounds like: y / w

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Starts directly on the vowel sound without consonant obstruction.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Open vocal tract directly into the target vowel shape.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -e vowel group

Sounds like: -e sounds like the 'uh' sound in 'duh'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'uh'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T3 (214)

2 → 1 → 4 (214)

3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 starts mid-high, dips down low into the throat, and curves up, matching a disbelieving 'Huh?' in English.

Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, this character changes to a 2nd tone (rising 35) according to standard Mandarin third tone sandhi rules.

👂

Listening trap: Beginners often mistake the isolated deep guttural vowel 'ě' for 'è' (Tone 4) because it can feel abrupt when spoken quickly.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 3 dips low like a V-shape, starting mid-high, dropping down into the chest, and rising slightly at the end.

3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 10 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The top component (亚) should be compact, while the bottom heart component (心) must be wide and steady to anchor the whole structure.

4. Components

Radical 心 · Heart Radical (heart, mind, emotions)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 心 (Indicates that the character relates to inner feelings, intent, or moral character of the mind.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 亚 (original sound: ya / e)

An evil state of mind comes from a heart (心) that is twisted, conflicted, or crossed out like a bad mark (亚).

亚 Top phonetic and structural guide representing opposition or cross shape
心 Bottom heart radical indicating emotion or moral nature

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

9· Phonetic Root: 亚 (yà)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined elements representing a feeling of revulsion or a foul state of being, later anchored by the heart radical to denote moral wickedness or inner badness.

Semantic Evolution: From an initial sense of disgust and foulness, it broadened to mean moral evil, bad quality, and fierce hostility.

In classical philosophy, 善 (shàn - good) and 恶 (è - evil) form the fundamental dichotomy of human moral nature.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: アク, オ / Kun: わる.い

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

악

Sound Shift Bridge: Shared East Asian cultural vocabulary root 'aku/惡' used in Buddhist and philosophical terminology.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You feel sick to your stomach and find it completely EVIL (ě) when someone crosses out (亚) your beating heart (心)!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

亚

yàAsia, secondServes as the phonetic base without the heart radical.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

亚(yà)

Missing the heart (心) radical at the bottom.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

坐车时间太长了，让我觉得有点[___]心。

Clue: ě

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the pronunciation and tone when it acts as è (evil, bad) versus ě (in 恶心 nausea) versus wù (to detest/hate).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see the character 恶 with the pinyin ě, what common physical sensation compound does it form?

Production: How do you write the character for 'evil/nausea' featuring a heart at the bottom?

恶ěevil, vicious, bad, nausea

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