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纵火犯 (zòng huǒ fàn) — arsonist

Definition

noun
arsonist
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 纵火犯。
    Nà ge zòng huǒ fàn yǐ jīng bèi jǐng fāng dài bǔ le.
    That arsonist has already been arrested by the police.
  • 纵火犯。
    Fǎ yuàn pàn chǔ zòng huǒ fàn shí nián yǒu qī tú xíng.
    The court sentenced the arsonist to ten years in prison.
  • 纵火犯。
    Jǐng fāng zhèng zài quán lì zhuī bǔ zhè ge zòng huǒ fàn.
    The police are making every effort to hunt down this arsonist.

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.

纵火set fire
纵zòngrelease火huǒfire
动宾Verb + object
犯fànoffender

“纵火” means setting fire and “犯” means offender, so the sense is an arsonist.

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 縱; 纵 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
從
從cóng縱zòng
Same sound today

The traditional form 縱 pairs the 糸 part with 從 as a sound part; the simplified 纵 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 纵 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

火 is a simple drawing of a fire, with flames shown rising upward.

Open 火 →

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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