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诈骗 (zhà piàn) — to defraud, to swindle

Definition

A formal, legal-style verb for fraud — typically used in news and court contexts (诈骗案, 诈骗犯). Stronger and more official than the everyday 骗; near-synonym 欺诈 is the even more written/legal term.

verb
to defraudto swindle

Examples

  • 诈骗。
    Jǐng fāng pò huò le yì qǐ dà xíng zhà piàn àn.
    The police cracked a major fraud case.
  • 诈骗。
    Tā yīn wèi zhà piàn bèi pàn le sān nián yǒu qī tú xíng.
    He was sentenced to three years in prison for fraud.
  • ，诈骗。
    Bú yào qīng xìn mò shēng rén de huà, xiǎo xīn bèi zhà piàn.
    Don't trust strangers easily; be careful not to be defrauded.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

诈zhàdeceive
骗piàndeceive

Both 诈 and 骗 convey deception, giving the sense of defrauding.

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 詐; 诈 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
乍
乍zhà詐zhà
Same sound today

The traditional form 詐 shows 言 (speech) plus 乍 as a sound part; the simplified 诈 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 诈 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Crime & Police

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