服刑 (fú xíng) — to serve a prison sentence

Definition

Formal/legal term meaning 'to serve a prison sentence,' used in court rulings and news reports rather than everyday speech.

verb

to serve a prison sentence

服刑。
Tā yīn dào qiè zuì zhèng zài fú xíng.
He is serving a sentence for theft.
。
Zhè míng zuì fàn yǐ jīng fú le shí nián xíng.
This criminal has already served ten years in prison.
服刑。
Fǎ yuàn pàn jué tā fú xíng èr shí nián.
The court sentenced him to serve twenty years.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

刑xíngpunishment

服 means serve and 刑 means punishment, giving the sense of serving a prison 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

𠬝

𠬝𠬝服fú

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 服, the part 𠬝 was the original picture for 'to subdue'; the added left part 凡, a tray, later changed shape.

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