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无期徒刑 (wú qī tú xíng) — life imprisonment

Definition

Life imprisonment, the most severe sentence short of the death penalty. The 徒刑 ('fixed-term imprisonment') part links it to 有期徒刑 (fixed-term) and 死缓 (death sentence with reprieve).

noun
life imprisonment

Examples

  • 无期徒刑。
    Fǎ yuàn pàn chǔ tā wú qī tú xíng.
    The court sentenced him to life imprisonment.
  • 无期徒刑。
    wú qī tú xíng Shì zuì yán lì de xíng fá zhī yī.
    Life imprisonment is one of the harshest punishments.
  • 无期徒刑。
    Tā yīn móu shā zuì bèi pàn chǔ wú qī tú xíng.
    He was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.

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.

无期without term
无wúlack期qīterm
动宾Verb + object
徒刑punishment
徒túservitude刑xíngpunishment
偏正Modifier + head

无期 means without a fixed term, and 徒刑 is punishment, so the term names life imprisonment.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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
日日rì
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.

Open 期 →

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
土tǔ徒tú
Same sound today

徒 originally paired 辵, a walking sign, with 土 to show its sound. The shape later changed into 彳 and 走.

Open 徒 →

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
刀刀dāo
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.

Open 刑 →
Appears in
Law & Justice

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