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死罪 (sǐ zuì) — capital offense; crime punishable by death; (historical) a self-deprecating phrase used in memorials to the emperor, meaning 'I beg your forgiveness'

Definition

Literally 'death crime' — a capital offense (historical / literary). The second sense, a humble self-deprecating phrase in memorials to the emperor begging forgiveness, is a fixed historical usage, not its core meaning.

noun
capital offensecrime punishable by death(historical) a self-deprecating phrase used in memorials to the emperor, meaning 'I beg your forgiveness'
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 死罪，。
    Tā fàn le sǐ zuì, bèi pàn chǔ sǐ xíng.
    He committed a capital offense and was sentenced to death.
  • 死罪。
    Gǔ dài chén zǐ zài zòu zhāng zhōng cháng yòng sǐ zuì zhè yì qiān cí.
    Ancient ministers often used the humble phrase 'diezui' in their memorials.
  • ，死罪。
    Xiàn dài hàn yǔ zhōng, sǐ zuì zhè ge cí yǐ jīng hěn shǎo yòng le.
    In modern Chinese, the word 'diezui' is rarely used anymore.

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sǐdeath
罪zuìcrime

The 死 part specifies that the 罪 is punishable by 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 →

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 & PoliceLaw & Justice

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