不法之徒 (bù fǎ zhī tú) — lawless person; outlaw

Definition

A formal, written term for a 'lawless person / outlaw,' used mostly in news and legal writing rather than everyday speech.

noun

lawless personoutlaw

Measure word · 个

不法之徒。
Zhè ge bù fǎ zhī tú zhōng yú bèi jǐng fāng zhuā huò.
This outlaw was finally captured by the police.
不法之徒。
Fǎ lǜ bú huì fàng guò rèn hé yí gè bù fǎ zhī tú.
The law will not let any lawless person off.
，不法之徒。
Cūn mín men tuán jié qǐ lái, dǐ kàng zhè xiē bù fǎ zhī tú.
The villagers united to resist these outlaws.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

廌廌zhìa type of antelope or caprid

Sound part声符shēngfú

盍

盍hé法fǎ

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

法's older form combined 氵 (water) and 廌 (a type of antelope or caprid), with 盍 as a sound part; later 廌 was dropped.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape pairs 止, a foot, with 一, a beginning place, and means to go.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辵辵chuòwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

土

Same sound today

徒 originally paired 辵, a walking sign, with 土 to show its sound. The shape later changed into 彳 and 走.