作案 (zuò àn) — to commit a crime or offense | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

作案 means 'to commit (a) crime' and focuses on the criminal act itself. Used in news and legal language, more formal than everyday words like 犯 fàn.

verb

to commit a crime or offense

Examples

作案。
Jǐng chá zhèng zài diào chá tā zuò àn de dòng jī.
The police are investigating his motive for committing the crime.
作案。
Zhè ge tuán huǒ céng jīng zuò àn guò èr shí duō cì.
This gang has committed crimes more than twenty times.
。
Wǒ huái yí shì nà ge rén zuò de àn.
I suspect that person committed the crime.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

作案 combines 作 (do) and 案 (case) to mean commit a case/crime.

Characters in this word

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

亻乍作

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

乍

乍zhà作zuò

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

The left side 亻 comes from 人, meaning 'person', and the right side 乍 gives the sound.

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

木安案

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

安

安ān案àn

Same sound today

案 pairs 木, a wood/tree shape, with 安, which is used for its sound.

Appears in

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