越狱犯 (yuè yù fàn) — prison escapee

Definition

noun
prison escapee
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 越狱犯。
    Jǐng fāng zhèng zài zhuī bǔ yì míng yuè yù fàn.
    The police are pursuing a prison escapee.
  • 越狱犯。
    Nà ge yuè yù fàn yǐ jīng bèi zhuā huí lái le.
    That prison escapee has already been caught and brought back.
  • ，越狱犯。
    Zhè zuò jiān yù de ān bǎo xì tǒng hěn qiáng, cóng lái méi yǒu yuè yù fàn táo pǎo chéng gōng.
    The security system in this prison is very strong; no prison escapee has ever successfully escaped.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

越狱escape prison
越yuècross狱yùprison
动宾Verb + object
犯fàncriminal

“越” means to cross or escape, “狱” means prison, and “犯” means criminal, so it names a criminal who escapes prison.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
走走zǒuto walk or run
Sound part声符shēngfú
戉
戉yuè越yuè
Same sound today

越 is built from 走 (to walk or run) and 戉 (which supplies the sound); the 走 part shows the idea of going over or crossing.

Open 越 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 獄; 狱 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 獄 pairs 㹜 (two dog forms) with 言 (words), showing dogs barking at each other in a jail with guard dogs. The simplified 狱 is a later shorthand.

Open 狱 →

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
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢎘
𢎘𢎘犯fàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

犯 combines 犬 and 𢎘: 犬 gives the meaning, and 𢎘 gives the sound.

Open 犯 →

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