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死刑犯 (sǐ xíng fàn) — criminal sentenced to death, death row inmate

Definition

noun
criminal sentenced to deathdeath row inmate
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 死刑犯。
    Nà ge sǐ xíng fàn zài jiān yù lǐ děng le shí nián cái zhí xíng.
    That death row inmate waited ten years in prison before execution.
  • 死刑犯。
    Fǎ yuàn pàn jué zhè míng sǐ xíng fàn lì jí zhí xíng sǐ xíng.
    The court sentenced this capital offender to immediate execution.
  • 死刑犯，。
    Guān yú sǐ xíng fàn de quán lì, gè guó fǎ lǜ yǒu bù tóng guī dìng.
    Different countries have different laws regarding the rights of death row inmates.

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.

死刑death sentence
死sǐdeath刑xíngpenalty
偏正Modifier + head
犯fàncriminal

死刑 names a death sentence, and 犯 is the criminal, so the word means someone sentenced to death.

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
歹歹dǎi
Sound part声符shēngfú
尸
尸shī死sǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

死 is built from 歹 and 尸: 歹 is the part tied to the meaning, and 尸 gives the sound.

Open 死 →

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 →

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
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢎘
𢎘𢎘犯fàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

犯 combines 犬 and 𢎘: 犬 gives the meaning, and 𢎘 gives the sound.

Open 犯 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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