Taxonomy of meanings for 害:　　

  • 害 hài (OC: ɡaads MC: ɦɑi) 胡蓋切 去 廣韻：【傷也胡蓋切四 】
    • DAMAGE
      • nab.tdamage to N
      • nabeventspecifically, ancestral harm; CC generally, harmful impact; kinds of damage done
      • v[adN]something that does damage (human or animal); menace
      • vt(oN)(try to) harm a contextually determinate person
      • vt[oN]be harmful; do damage to others; be harmful in any way; be a harmful thing to do
      • vt+prep+Nbe deleterious to; do damage to; impair
      • vtoNgradedto damage, to inflict harm; impair (clear-sightedness) 甚害田
      • vtoNfigurativedo abstract damage to, impair
      • vt(oN)figurativeto inflict a mental harm (on a contextually determinate object)
      • vtoNpassiveget injured or damaged; suffer harm
      • vtoNreflexive.己harm (oneself) 害己
      • vtoNreflexive.身do harm to (oneself)
      • vtoNreflexive.自damage (oneself)
      • nharmful thing
      • nab.post-Ndamage to Ndamage to N
      • nab.post-Ndamage from Ndamage from N
      • vtoNmiddle voicefigurative: be aesthetically impairedCH
      • vtoNputative; passivebe regarded as harmful to one's interestsLZ
      • nabdisadvantageousness, damaging impact, damageCH
      • vtoNputativeconsider N to be harmfulCH
      • abstract logiccal> CONTRARY
        • vtoNfigurativebe inconsistent with
        • vt+prep+Nabbe logically incompatible or factually inconsistent withCH
      • by excelling> SURPASS
        • by spending uselessly> WASTE
          • mortally> KILL
            • vtoNmurder
          • by disobedience> OFFEND
            • vtoNoccasionally used in an abstract moral or even logical sense fail to observe (rules etc); act at the expense of; be logically inconsistent with
          • natural> DISASTER
            • vt(oN)putativeregard the contextually determinate N as (potential) disaster, regard as threat
            • nabeventharmful event
          • late colloquial: suffer from a feeling of害羞> FEEL
        • 害 he2 《集韻》何葛切，入曷匣。月部。
            • grammaticalised> WHAT
              • npro{OBJ}+Vtwhat?, which?
              • time> WHEN
                • padVquestionpre-classical interrogative adverbial "when?"???, loan for 曷hé
            • =曷 grammaticalised: why not?> CERTAIN

              Additional information about 害

              說文解字: 【害】，傷也。从宀、从口。宀口，言从家起也。 〔小徐本作「从宀、口，言從家起也。」〕 丯聲。 【胡蓋切】

                Criteria
              • CONTRARY

                1. The current word for being logically or practically opposed to something else is fǎn 反 (ant. tóng 同 "agree with, go along with").

                2. Guāi 乖 refers to any kind of practical contradiction or opposition, also opposition to what is current and acceptable. See WICKED

                2. Bèi 悖 (ant. xié 諧 "be in harmony with, be perfectly consistent with") refers quite abstractly to logical incoherence or inconsistency.

                3.Hài 害 (ant. yì 益 "further strengthen the point") is a term for logical inconsistency.

                4. Xiāng gōng 相攻 and bù xiāng róng 不相容 are technical terms referring to logical incompatibility.

                NB: Shuǐ huǒ 水火 is late post-Buddhist and refers vividly to a practical incompatibility.

              • PROFIT

                1. The current general word for any kind of material or other profit or advantage is yì 益 (ant. sǔn 損 "loss").

                2. Lì 利 (1. ant. yì 義 "considerations of rectitude"(!!); 2. ant. hài 害 "damage and loss suffered") refers to material profit.

                3. Dé 得 (ant. shī 失 "lose") refers abstractly to what is achieved as a desired advantage.

                5. Rù 入 (ant. chū 出 "expense") is manifest material gain.

                6. Biàn 便 (ant. zǔ 阻 "hindrance and disadvantage") refers to a convenient adantage.

              • DAMAGE

                1. By far the commonest general word for damage is hài 害 (ant. lì 利 "benefit").

                2. Shāng 傷 "impair" and sǔn 損 "reduce and impair" (all ant. yì 益 "strengthen") are weaker than hài 害 and definitely suggest the survival of what is impaired.

                3. Zéi 賊 is stronger than hài 害 and definitely suggests that the damage done is serious indeed - possibly fatal.

              • OFFEND

                1. The current most general word for offending against what one is obliged to act in accordance with or going against a current is probably nì 逆 (ant. shùn 順 "follow and obey"), which refers to any action which goes against something.

                2. Fàn 犯 (ant. cǒng 從 "follow obediently") refers as a derogatory term to a deliberate and active breaking of a rule.

                3. Gān 干 and gān 奸 are rare words referring specifically to culpable breach of the law.

                4. Wéi 違 (ant. xún 循 "follow") and the rarer lí 離 as well as fēi 非 are neutral terms referring to a failure to comply with something.

                5. Fú 拂 refers to something grating against sensibilities or creating a conflict.

                6. Fáng 妨 adds to the failure of compliance the nuance of interference with what one fails to comply with.

                7. Kuī 虧 adds to the failure of compliance the nuance of inflicting harm or damage on what one fails to comply with.

                8. Shāng 傷, hài 害, and bài 敗 add to the failure of compliance the element of ruining what one has failed to comply with exactly by this failure of compliance; but hài 害 has developed a special related meaning of offending logically against something, i.e. being incompatible with it.

              • DISASTER

                1. The most common general word for disasters is huò 禍 (ant. fú 福 "good fortune") which has no connotations of any metaphysical kind. (In OBI the character currently transcribed as huò 禍 - and closely related to 占 - refers not only to disasters as such, but particularly to disastrous omens.)

                2. Zāi 災 refers to a natural disaster, typically sent down by Heaven.

                3. Huàn 患 refers to any major or minor disaster, even down to minor irritations.

                4. Yāng 殃 always refers to major natural disasters, often construed as causes by human misdemeanour, or by a failure to take preventive action.

                5. Niè 孽 often has heavy metaphysical connotations and refers to disasters as caused by higher powers acting with an intention to harm, but there are some clear cases where the word refers to man-made trouble in MENG.

                6. Nàn 難 refer to man-made disasters of every kind.

                7. Jí 急 is a disastrous or highly precarious situation that has occurred suddenly and requires urgent attention.

                8. Bù yú 不虞 is normally a minor disaster that was utterly unexpected.

                9. Xiōng 凶, shěng 眚 and jiù 咎 are archaic metaphysical terms for misfortunes.

                10. Hài 害 refers generally to harm, but in OBI the word standardly refers to harm done by supernatural powers or ancestors.

                Word relations
              • Ant: (DAMAGE)利/PROFIT Lì 利 (1. ant. yì 義 "considerations of rectitude"(!!); 2. ant. hài 害 "damage and loss suffered") refers to material profit.
              • Ant: (DAMAGE)功/MERIT The current general word for achievements of any kind is gōng 功.
              • Ant: (DAMAGE)益/HELP Yì 益 (ant. sǔn 損 "act to hinder someone's progress") refers to support for someone who is already fairly well equipped for the task he or she gets support for.
              • Ant: (DAMAGE)益/PROFIT The current general word for any kind of material or other profit or advantage is yì 益 (ant. sǔn 損 "loss").
              • Ant: (DAMAGE)補/HELP
              • Ant: (DAMAGE)德 / 得/GENEROUS Dé 德 and the rarer zé 澤 refer to graceful and spiritually inspiring munificence, typically from a person of supremely high status.
              • Ant: (DAMAGE)慈/LOVE Cí 慈 (ant. rěn 忍 "callous, unfeeling") is primarily the intimate emotional concern of mothers/parents for their children, and by extension such concern of a fatherly ruler for his people. [EMOTIONAL], [PRACTICAL]
              • Ant: (DAMAGE)補/HELP
              • Object: (DISASTER)遇/ENCOUNTER Yù 遇 refers to having been exposed to something (often something positive) by coincidence.
              • Epithet: (DAMAGE)毒/POISON The current general word for poison is dú 毒.
              • Contrast: (DAMAGE)危/DANGER The current standard general word for real objective as well as perceived imminent danger is wēi 危 (ant. ān 安 "peace").
              • Contrast: (DAMAGE)/
              • Assoc: (DISASTER)凶/DISASTER Xiōng 凶, shěng 眚 and jiù 咎 are archaic metaphysical terms for misfortunes.
              • Assoc: (DISASTER)患/DISASTER Huàn 患 refers to any major or minor disaster, even down to minor irritations.
              • Assoc: (DISASTER)災 / 菑/DISASTER Zāi 災 refers to a natural disaster, typically sent down by Heaven.
              • Assoc: (DAMAGE)累/ENTANGLE
              • Assoc: (DAMAGE)賊/DAMAGE Zéi 賊 is stronger than hài 害 and definitely suggests that the damage done is serious indeed - possibly fatal. See also VILLAIN
              • Assoc: (DAMAGE)災 / 菑/DISASTER Zāi 災 refers to a natural disaster, typically sent down by Heaven.
              • Assoc: (DISASTER)禍/DISASTER The most common general word for disasters is huò 禍 (ant. fú 福 "good fortune") which has no connotations of any metaphysical kind. (In OBI the character currently transcribed as huò 禍 - and closely related to 占 - refers not only to disasters as such, but particularly to disastrous omens.)