罚款 (fá kuǎn) — to fine; fine, monetary penalty

Definition

罚款 (fákuǎn) is specifically a MONETARY penalty — both the act of fining (verb) and the fine itself (noun). 罚 is the broader verb 'to penalize'; 罚款 narrows it to money only.

to finefinemonetary penalty

Measure word · 笔

Examples

罚款，。
Sī jī fá kuǎn le, yīn wèi chuǎng hóng dēng.
The driver was fined for running a red light.
罚款。
Zhè cì fá kuǎn shì sān qiān yuán.
This fine is 3,000 yuan.
。
Tā suí biàn tíng chē fá le kuǎn.
He was fined for parking carelessly.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

罚fápunish

款kuǎnmoney

罚 means punish and 款 means sum or money, so the word means imposing a monetary penalty.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 罰; 罚 is its simplified writing.

詈詈lìabuse verbally
刀刀dāoknife

The traditional form 罰 pairs 詈 (abuse verbally) with 刀 (knife); verbal abuse and improper use of a knife represent a crime. The simplified 罚 is a later abbreviation.

Open 罚 →

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

欠欠qiànlacking, desire

Sound part声符shēngfú

柰

柰nài款kuǎn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

款 pairs 柰, a sound hint, with 欠, a part about lacking or desire.

Open 款 →

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Crime & Police