现行犯 (xiàn xíng fàn) — (law) a criminal caught in the act, before, or immediately after committing a crime

Definition

Legal term for a criminal caught in the act, just before, or immediately after the crime — a category under Chinese criminal law that allows on-the-spot arrest without a warrant.

noun
(law) a criminal caught in the act, before, or immediately after committing a crime
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 现行犯。
    Jǐng chá zhuā dào le yí gè xiàn xíng fàn.
    The police caught a criminal in the act.
  • ，现行犯。
    Gēn jù fǎ lǜ, xiàn xíng fàn kě yǐ lì jí dài bǔ.
    Under the law, a criminal caught in the act can be arrested immediately.
  • 现行犯，。
    Nà ge xiǎo tōu shì xiàn xíng fàn, bèi dāng chǎng zhuā huò.
    That thief was caught red-handed and was arrested on the spot.

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.

现行current act
现xiàncurrent行xíngact
偏正Modifier + head
犯fànoffender

现行 marks the act in progress and 犯 the offender, together meaning someone caught in that act.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 現; 现 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
見
見jiàn現
Same sound today

The traditional form 現 pairs 玉 (jade) with 見 as a sound part; the simplified 现 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 现 →

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

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

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 →

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