邪

It is a phono-semantic compound, combining:

邑 (eup, “village, settlement”) as the semantic element;

牙 (a, “tooth”) as the phonetic element.

This character can also be used as a tongjia (通假字, interchangeable character) for 斜 (slanted), 耶 (final particle ya), 徐 (slowly), 餘 (remaining).

In particular, 耶 began as a variant form of 邪, but later developed into a fully independent character with only the meaning of the sentence-ending particle ya.

Retains a strong negative connotation (evil, crooked, heretical).

Less common in daily conversation, but appears in literature, philosophy, and religion.

Common compounds:

사악 (邪惡) – evil, wickedness;

간사 (奸邪) – treachery, deceit;

사기 (邪氣) – unhealthy energy, evil influence;

사도 (邪道) – heretical way, wrong path.