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嫌犯 (xián fàn) — criminal suspect

Definition

嫌犯 (xiánfàn) is a formal, legal term for a 'criminal suspect' — a person suspected of a crime before conviction. It is more official than the everyday 嫌疑人 and is typical in news and courtroom contexts.

noun
criminal suspect
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 嫌犯。
    Jǐng fāng zhèng zài quán lì zhuī bǔ zhè míng xián fàn.
    The police are doing their best to pursue this criminal suspect.
  • 嫌犯。
    xián fàn Duì zì jǐ de zuì xíng gòng rèn bú huì.
    The suspect confessed to his crimes without concealment.
  • ，嫌犯。
    Fǎ tíng jiāng yú xià yuè kāi tíng shěn lǐ cǐ àn, xián fàn yǐ bèi jū liú.
    The court will open a trial next month; the suspect has been detained.

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.

嫌xiánsuspicion
犯fànoffender

A 嫌 (suspicion) 犯 (offender) is an offender under suspicion.

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
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
兼
兼jiān嫌xián
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 女 connects the character to women, while the right part 兼 gives its sound.

Open 嫌 →

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
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢎘
𢎘𢎘犯fàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

犯 combines 犬 and 𢎘: 犬 gives the meaning, and 𢎘 gives the sound.

Open 犯 →
Appears in
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