戾

戾 is a compound ideograph.

It depicts a dog (犬) trapped inside a door (戶):

戶 — door; enclosure

犬 — dog

The image conveys a dog confined within a doorway, struggling and acting violently to get out.

This gives rise to the core sense of violent deviation, distortion, or acting against the proper course.

The meanings of 戾 developed along two related but distinct paths:

- deviation / perversity — actions that go against order, norms, or intention;

- turning back (secondary, rare) — reversal or return, derived from the physical struggle and change of direction.

In Korean usage, the first sense (어그러지다) is dominant, while the “return” sense is marginal and largely lexical.

In Korean, 戾 is rare in daily language and appears mainly in Sino-Korean compounds or academic contexts.

The character is semantically strong, often implying moral distortion or dangerous imbalance.

The imagery of confinement contributes to its association with inner tension and outward disruption.

Deviation / perversity:

포악 (暴戾) — brutality; cruelty

편려 (偏戾) — bias; distortion

려기 (戾氣) — perverse or malignant energy

Return / reversal (rare):

회려 (回戾) — to turn back; to reverse

戾 emphasizes violent or abnormal deviation, not simple difference.

Often contrasted with:

正 — correct; upright

順 — compliant; orderly

The character frequently appears in negative moral or psychological descriptions.

Related characters:

乖 — perverse; contrary

暴 — violent

逆 — rebellious; against

偏 — biased

正 — upright (contrast)

Among these, 戾 most strongly conveys inner distortion erupting into outward disorder.

Classical / literary usage:

性情乖戾 — “A temperament that is perverse and warped”

暴戾恣睢 — “Violent and unrestrained in cruelty”

In Chinese character the top of 戶, the upper part is often reduced to a dot (⺀-like), which explains the common Chinese-style glyph.

Japanese usage:

The jōyō character 戻 is used as the shinjitai substitute for 戾.

Historically, 戻 was a separate character (戶 + 大) meaning a type of sliding door beside a cart.

Because that original meaning became obsolete, 戻 was repurposed to represent 戾.

Thus, modern Japanese conflates 戾 and 戻, while traditional texts maintain the distinction.