徒刑 (tú xíng) — (legal) imprisonment (as a criminal penalty, ei…

Definition

Legal term for a prison sentence as a criminal penalty — fixed-term (有期徒刑) or life (无期徒刑). Appears almost only in court and law contexts.

noun

(legal) imprisonment (as a criminal penalty, either fixed-term or life)

徒刑。
Tā bèi pàn le shí nián tú xíng.
He was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment.
徒刑。
Wú qī tú xíng shì zuì yán zhòng de tú xíng zhī yī.
Life imprisonment is one of the most severe forms of imprisonment.
徒刑。
Zhè ge zuì fàn bèi pàn chǔ le cháng qī tú xíng.
This criminal was sentenced to long-term imprisonment.

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.

徒túforced labor/prisoner

刑xíngpunishment

徒 points to forced labor or convict status, while 刑 is punishment; together they name imprisonment.

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

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.

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

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.

Appears in