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缓刑 (huǎn xíng) — (law) suspended sentence, probation; (verb-object) to sentence someone to probation

Definition

A legal term for a 'suspended sentence': the court delays serving a prison term, usually with a probation period. Treat as a fixed verb-object unit (缓 + 刑) used in formal/judicial contexts.

verb
(law) suspended sentenceprobation(verb-object) to sentence someone to probation

Examples

  • 缓刑。
    Fǎ guān pàn le tā sān nián huǎn xíng.
    The judge gave him a three-year suspended sentence.
  • 缓刑，。
    Tā bèi huǎn xíng liǎng nián, bú yòng zuò láo.
    He was sentenced to two years of probation and doesn't need to serve time.
  • 。
    Fǎ yuàn huǎn le tā yì nián xíng.
    The court granted him a one-year suspended sentence.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

缓huǎnsuspend
刑xíngpunishment

缓 means to delay or suspend, and 刑 is punishment, so the word means a suspended sentence.

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 緩; 缓 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
爰
爰yuán緩huǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 緩 pairs 糸 (silk) with 爰, which gives the sound; the simplified 缓 is a later shorthand.

Open 缓 →

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 →
Appears in
Law & Justice

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