刑讯 (xíng xùn) — to interrogate under torture; torture-based int… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal/written term meaning to interrogate someone while physically torturing them to extract a confession. Used mainly in legal, journalistic, and human-rights contexts — not everyday speech.

verb

to interrogate under torturetorture-based interrogation

Examples

刑讯。
Fǎ lǜ yán jìn duì fàn zuì xián yí rén jìn xíng xíng xùn.
The law strictly prohibits interrogating criminal suspects under torture.
刑讯。
Lì shǐ shàng céng yǒu hěn duō xíng xùn bī gòng de àn lì.
There have been many cases in history where confessions were extracted through torture.
刑讯。
Bèi gào lǜ shī zhǐ kòng jǐng fāng shǐ yòng le xíng xùn shǒu duàn.
The defendant's lawyer accused the police of using torture methods during interrogation.

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xíngtorture/punishment

讯xùninterrogation

刑 torture and 讯 interrogation combine to mean questioning under torture.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 訊; 讯 is its simplified writing.

言卂訊

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

卂

卂xùn訊xùn

Same sound today

The traditional form 訊 combines 言 (words) with 卂 as a sound part; the simplified 讯 is a shorthand.

Appears in

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