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行刑 (xíng xíng) — to carry out a death sentence; to execute (a criminal); (in historical contexts) to inflict torture (on prisoners)

Definition

Refers to carrying out a legally imposed physical punishment — chiefly execution of a death sentence, or historically, torture of a prisoner. Formal/written term; contrasts with everyday 杀 (kill).

verb
to carry out a death sentenceto execute (a criminal)(in historical contexts) to inflict torture (on prisoners)

Examples

  • 行刑。
    Fǎ yuàn míng tiān yào duì nà míng zuì fàn xíng xíng.
    The court will execute that criminal tomorrow.
  • ，。
    Fǎ guān yǐ jīng qiān le lìng, míng zǎo xíng yí cì xíng.
    The judge has signed the order, and the execution will be carried out once tomorrow morning.
  • 。
    Tā men duì nà ge qiú fàn xíng le sān gè xiǎo shí de xíng.
    They tortured that prisoner for three hours.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

行xíngcarry out
刑xíngpunishment

行 means to carry out, and 刑 names punishment or sentence, so the result is to carry out a sentence.

Characters in this word

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
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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