刑期 (xíng qī) — prison term, sentence (duration of imprisonment) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

prison termsentence (duration of imprisonment)

Examples

刑期。
Tā de xíng qī shì shí nián.
His prison term is ten years.
，刑期。
Yīn wèi biǎo xiàn hǎo, tā de xíng qī bèi jiǎn le liǎng nián.
Because of good behavior, his sentence was reduced by two years.
刑期，。
xíng qī Jié shù hòu, tā chóng xīn huí dào le shè huì.
After his prison term ended, he returned to society.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

刑xíngpunishment

期qīperiod

刑 (punishment) + 期 (period) names the period of a sentence.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

井

井jǐng刑xíng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

刑 puts 刀 (knife) beside 井. The knife part shows the punishment idea, and 井 gives the sound.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

其

其qí期qī

Same sound today

The original form paired 其 for its sound with 日 (sun). A related form changed that sun to 月, and this later developed into 期.

Appears in

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