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主犯 (zhǔ fàn) — principal offender, prime culprit

Definition

Legal term for the 'principal offender' — the person who plays the main role in a crime, contrasted with 从犯 ('accessory', a lesser participant). Penalties are heavier for the 主犯.

noun
principal offenderprime culprit
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 主犯。
    Fǎ yuàn rèn dìng tā shì zhè qǐ qiǎng jié àn de zhǔ fàn.
    The court determined he was the prime culprit in this robbery case.
  • 主犯。
    Jǐng fāng yǐ jīng dài bǔ le sān míng zhǔ fàn.
    The police have arrested three principal offenders.
  • 主犯。
    zhǔ fàn Hé cóng fàn de xíng fá bù tóng.
    The penalties for the principal offender and accessories differ.

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.

主zhǔprincipal
犯fànoffender

主 means principal and 犯 means offender, together naming the chief culprit.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Open 主 →

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 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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