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共犯 (gòng fàn) — accomplice

Definition

A legal term for an accomplice in a crime — someone who helps commit the offense but is not the main perpetrator (主犯). Pairs with 共犯 vs 主犯 in Chinese legal contexts.

noun
accomplice
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 共犯。
    Tā shì zhè ge àn jiàn de gòng fàn.
    He is an accomplice in this case.
  • 共犯。
    Jǐng fāng zhèng zài zhuī bǔ gāi gòng fàn.
    The police are pursuing the accomplice.
  • 共犯。
    gòng fàn Hé zhǔ fàn dōu bèi pàn le xíng.
    Both the accomplice and the principal offender were sentenced.

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.

共gòngjoint
犯fànoffender

共 means joint, 犯 means offender, so together it means someone who commits a crime with others.

Characters in this word

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

  • 廾廾gǒngtwo hands
  • 口口kǒuan object

共 shows 廾, two hands, holding up an object. That object was written 口 and later became the 廿-like top.

Open 共 →

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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