极刑 (jí xíng) — capital punishment, death penalty

Definition

noun

capital punishmentdeath penalty

极刑。
Zhè ge guó jiā duì jí xíng de shì yòng fàn wéi yǒu yán gé de fǎ lǜ xiàn zhì.
This country has strict legal restrictions on the scope of capital punishment.
极刑。
Lì shǐ shàng jí xíng céng bèi guǎng fàn yòng yú chéng fá zhòng dà zuì fàn.
Historically, capital punishment was widely used to punish serious criminals.
极刑。
Fèi chú jí xíng yǐ chéng wéi xǔ duō guó jiā tǎo lùn de jiāo diǎn zhī yī.
Abolishing the death penalty has become one of the focal points of discussion in many countries.

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.

极jíextreme

刑xíngpunishment

极 means extreme and 刑 means punishment, so the word names the most severe penalty.

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.

木及极

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree, wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

及

Same sound today

极 pairs 木 (tree, wood) with 及, which provides the sound.

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.