欺诈 (qī zhà) — to defraud, to swindle (formal, legal term) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

欺诈 is a formal/legal verb for 'to defraud or swindle,' usually of money or rights. Stronger and more official than 骗 or 欺骗, and broader than 作弊 (cheating on a test) or 诈骗 (financial fraud).

verb

to defraudto swindle (formal, legal term)

Examples

欺诈。
Zhè jiā gōng sī yīn qī zhà xiāo fèi zhě bèi fá kuǎn.
This company was fined for defrauding consumers.
欺诈，。
Tā shè xián hé tong qī zhà, zhèng zài jiē shòu diào chá.
He is suspected of contract fraud and is under investigation.
欺诈。
Fǎ lǜ yán lì dǎ jī jīn róng qī zhà xíng wéi.
The law severely cracks down on financial fraud.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

诈zhàtrickery

欺 and 诈 both mean cheating or trickery, reinforcing the idea of defrauding.

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.

其欠欺

Meaning part形符xíngfú

欠欠qiànbreath

Sound part声符shēngfú

其

其qí欺qī

Same sound today

欺 is made of 其, which gives its sound, and 欠, which means breath.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 詐; 诈 is its simplified writing.

言乍詐

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

乍

乍zhà詐zhà

Same sound today

The traditional form 詐 shows 言 (speech) plus 乍 as a sound part; the simplified 诈 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical ones.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Crime & Police Law & Justice

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