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行骗 (xíng piàn) — to swindle, to cheat

Definition

A verb meaning to swindle or cheat people, emphasizing the act of running a scam. Often appears in legal or news contexts, e.g. 因行骗被抓 ('caught for fraud').

verb
to swindleto cheat

Examples

  • 行骗。
    Tā lì yòng jiǎ shēn fèn dào chù xíng piàn.
    He uses fake identities to swindle everywhere.
  • 行骗。
    Zhè xiē piàn zi zhuān mén xíng piàn lǎo nián rén.
    These swindlers specifically cheat elderly people.
  • 行骗。
    Tā yīn wèi xíng piàn bèi jǐng chá zhuā le.
    He was caught by the police for swindling.

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
骗piàndeception

行 'carry out' and 骗 'deception' combine to mean to swindle.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 騙; 骗 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
馬馬mǎhorse
Sound part声符shēngfú
扁
扁biǎn騙piàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 騙 pairs 馬 (horse) with 扁, which gives the sound; it originally meant to mount a horse by swinging a leg across it. The simplified 骗 is a later abbreviation.

Open 骗 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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