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字源zìyuánEtymology & Structure
字源洞见 zìyuán dòngjiàn · Etymological Insight
害 stacks three pieces under one cover: the roof 宀 on top, a cutting element below it, and a mouth 口 at the base. Read the structure as ⿱宀(丰口): a sheltered space, an edge that severs, and the mouth that speaks. The graph was assembled for its meaning rather than its sound, so there is no clean phonetic to point at; every stroke pulls toward the idea of injury done within an enclosed place.
The seal form already shows the roof drawn tight over the lower elements, the way a household closes around a quarrel. The Shuōwén Jiězì glosses 害 as 傷 (shāng), to wound, and ties the lower mouth to slander and dispute: harm that begins as words spoken under a shared roof before it becomes a blade. The cutting stroke gives the violence; the 口 gives the human source of it.
From that concrete wound the sense fans out. 害 becomes the noun for harm and calamity (灾害 zāihài), the verb for injuring a person or a cause (害人 hàirén), and the causative for inflicting a state on someone: 害病 (hàibìng), to be struck by illness. The most everyday branch turns inward, where the wound one fears is one's own: 害怕 (hàipà), to be afraid.
Japanese keeps the character as 害 (gai) in 害虫 (gaichū, a harmful insect) and 公害 (kōgai, public pollution), and Korean reads it 해 (hae) in 해충 and 손해 (sonhae, loss). Across all three the through-line holds: a thing that wounds, whether a pest, a poison, or a word.
恐惧kǒngjù害怕 · The Inward Wound
害 carries a sense that surprises learners: to fear. When the harm a person dreads is turned inward, 害 supplies the dread itself, paired with 怕 (pà, to fear) into the most common spoken word for being afraid. The injury here is anticipated rather than inflicted.
害怕hàipàto be afraid, to fear
V 动词 dòngcí
害 (dread) reinforced by 怕 (to fear). The default spoken verb for fear of a concrete thing or outcome. Takes an object directly or stands alone.
辨析 biànxī · 害怕 vs. 怕 怕 alone is lighter and very common in speech; 害怕 names the state of fear more fully and is preferred when describing a settled feeling rather than a quick reaction.
害羞hàixiūshy, bashful
Adj 形容词 xíngróngcí
害 (to suffer a feeling) + 羞 (shame). To be visited by shyness, the blush of being seen. Describes a person's manner, not a one-off act.
她有点害羞，不敢上台。
Tā yǒudiǎn hàixiū, bù gǎn shàngtái.
She's a little shy and doesn't dare go on stage.
害病hàibìngto fall ill, to be sick
V 动词 dòngcí
害 (to be afflicted by) + 病 (illness). The causative branch: to be struck down by sickness. Colloquial and slightly regional; 生病 (shēngbìng) is the neutral standard.
他害了一场大病，瘦了不少。
Tā hàile yì cháng dàbìng, shòule bù shǎo.
He came down with a serious illness and lost a fair amount of weight.
损害sǔnhàiHarm, Danger & Calamity
The original sense of 害 stays fully alive in modern compounds, where it marks anything that wounds: people, health, interests, the environment. It pairs left or right with verbs of damage (危, 损, 伤) and with the bound 有害／无害 frame that rates a thing as harmful or harmless.
厉害lìhaifierce, formidable; impressive
Adj 形容词 xíngróngcí
厉 (severe, sharp) + 害 (harm), here neutral-toned. Literally cutting and harmful, the word swung into admiration: someone or something so strong it could hurt you. Praise and warning at once.
The sun is brutal today, remember to use sunscreen.
辨析 biànxī · praise vs. severity Context decides: 你真厉害 praises skill, while 病得很厉害 (bìng de hěn lìhai) means seriously ill. Same word, the harm reading versus the impressive reading.
危害wēihàito endanger; harm, hazard
V/N 动名词 dòngmíngcí
危 (danger) + 害 (harm). To imperil, or the peril itself. A formal word for threats to health, safety, or society; common in news and policy.
吸烟严重危害健康。
Xīyān yánzhòng wēihài jiànkāng.
Smoking seriously harms your health.
有害yǒuhàiharmful, noxious
Adj 形容词 xíngróngcí
有 (to have) + 害 (harm): possessing the capacity to wound. Its antonym 无害 (wúhài) marks a thing as harmless. Frequent on labels and in science writing.
害 (harmful) + 虫 (insect). An insect that damages crops or carries disease. Its counterpart is 益虫 (yìchóng), a beneficial insect.
农民用这种方法消灭害虫。
Nóngmín yòng zhè zhǒng fāngfǎ xiāomiè hàichóng.
Farmers use this method to eliminate pests.
成语chéngyǔIdioms & Set Phrases
害群之马hài qún zhī mǎa horse that harms the herd: one bad appleFrom the Zhuāngzǐ, where the Yellow Emperor is told to govern by removing whatever harms the herd. Now the person who spoils a group or organization.
为民除害wèi mín chú hàito rid the people of a scourgeTo eliminate a menace for the public good, as a hero kills a man-eating beast. Praising tone, used for someone who removes a real threat.
伤天害理shāng tiān hài lǐto wound heaven and harm reason: utterly immoralAn act so cruel it offends both heaven and natural law. Strong condemnation of conscienceless deeds.
贻害无穷yí hài wú qióngto leave behind endless harm贻 (to bequeath) + 害 + 无穷 (endless): a mistake or evil whose damage runs on without limit. Compare the proverb 害人之心不可有，防人之心不可无 (never hold a heart that harms others, never drop the guard against being harmed), which frames the moral middle ground 害 sits on.
记忆法 jìyìfǎ · Master Retention Image
Picture a low house at dusk with the roof 宀 pulled down over a single lit room. Inside, a blade lies on the table and a mouth is mid-sentence, the words sharp enough to draw blood. The shelter that should protect has become the place where the wound is made. That is 害: harm done under a roof, by an edge and by speech.
Hold the scene and the compounds fall out of it. Turn the blade outward on others and you get 危害 and 伤害, the harming of people and interests. Turn the dread inward, toward the person who fears the room, and you get 害怕. Let the lit room hold a quarrel so cutting it draws admiration, and the same word swings to 厉害, fierce enough to impress.
For the tone, hear 害 fall like the roof beam coming down: a sharp fourth-tone hài, the drop that ends an argument and seals the wound shut.
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