纵火罪 (zòng huǒ zuì) — arson (the crime of intentionally setting fire… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

arson (the crime of intentionally setting fire to property)

Examples

纵火罪。
Tā bèi pàn le zòng huǒ zuì.
He was convicted of arson.
纵火罪。
zòng huǒ zuì Shì yì zhǒng yán zhòng de xíng shì fàn zuì.
Arson is a serious criminal offense.
纵火罪。
Jǐng fāng zhèng zài diào chá zhè qǐ zòng huǒ zuì.
The police are investigating this arson case.

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zòngset火huǒfire

动宾Verb + object

纵火 'set fire' specifies the kind of 罪 'crime'.

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.

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.

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

罒非罪

罒网wǎngnet
非非fēimistake

罪 puts 罒 (a net, written fully as 网) over 非 (mistake).

Appears in

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