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贩毒 (fàn dú) — to traffic in narcotics; drug trafficking

Definition

贩毒 is a formal/legal term for drug trafficking, used in news and court contexts — not everyday speech. 毒 here means narcotics, not 'poison' as in 中毒.

verb
to traffic in narcoticsdrug trafficking

Examples

  • 贩毒。
    Tā yīn fàn dú bèi pàn le shí nián tú xíng.
    He was sentenced to ten years in prison for drug trafficking.
  • 贩毒。
    Jǐng fāng pò huò le yí gè dà xíng fàn dú jí tuán.
    The police broke up a large drug-trafficking ring.
  • 。
    Tā chéng rèn zì jǐ fàn guò liǎng cì dú.
    He admitted that he had trafficked drugs twice.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

贩fànsell
毒dúdrug

贩 means to sell or traffic, and 毒 refers to drugs, so 贩毒 means trafficking in narcotics.

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 販; 贩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèicowry
Sound part声符shēngfú
反
反fǎn販fàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 販 combines 貝, a cowry shell, with 反 as a sound part; the simplified 贩 is a shorthand and its right side is not a historical component.

Open 贩 →

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
屮屮chèvegetation
Sound part声符shēngfú
毐
毐ǎi毒dú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

毒 pairs 屮, a plant part, with 毐 as a sound part; this form was used for a poisonous plant.

Open 毒 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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