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杀人罪 (shā rén zuì) — crime of homicide; murder; manslaughter (general legal term)

Definition

Legal noun for 'the crime of homicide / murder' — a specific charge in Chinese criminal law, broader than 谋杀 (premeditated murder) and distinct from 过失致人死亡 (manslaughter).

noun
crime of homicidemurdermanslaughter (general legal term)

Examples

  • 杀人罪，。
    Tā bèi pàn le shā rén zuì, kě néng yào zuò èr shí nián láo.
    He was convicted of homicide and may serve twenty years in prison.
  • 杀人罪。
    shā rén zuì Shì yì zhǒng hěn yán zhòng de fàn zuì.
    Homicide is a very serious crime.
  • 杀人罪。
    Zhè ge àn zi mù qián shì àn shā rén zuì lái diào chá de.
    This case is currently being investigated as a homicide.

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.

杀人kill a person
杀shākill人rénperson
动宾Verb + object
罪zuìcrime

杀人 (kill a person) specifies the type of 罪 (crime).

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 殺; 杀 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 殺 comes from an old drawing of a boar impaled in the head, with 人 and 又 added to show a person doing the killing; the simplified 杀 is a later abbreviation.

Open 杀 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

罪 puts 罒 (a net, written fully as 网) over 非 (mistake).

Open 罪 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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