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刑事犯罪 (xíng shì fàn zuì) — criminal offense, criminal act

Definition

A legal term for a 'criminal offense' — distinct from 民事犯罪 (civil wrong). Use 刑事犯罪 specifically for acts prosecuted under criminal law, carrying penalties like imprisonment.

noun
criminal offensecriminal act

Examples

  • 刑事犯罪。
    Zuì jìn jǐng fāng pò huò le yì qǐ zhòng dà de xíng shì fàn zuì àn jiàn.
    The police recently cracked a major criminal case.
  • 刑事犯罪。
    xíng shì fàn zuì Yǔ mín shì fàn zuì de fǎ lǜ hòu guǒ bù tóng.
    The legal consequences of criminal acts differ from those of civil offenses.
  • 刑事犯罪。
    Lǜ shī zhèng zài wèi shè jí xíng shì fàn zuì de bèi gào rén biàn hù.
    The lawyer is defending the defendant involved in a criminal offense.

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.

刑事criminal
刑xíngcriminal事shìmatter
偏正Modifier + head
犯罪commit crime
犯fàncommit罪zuìcrime
动宾Verb + object

刑事 gives criminal, and 犯罪 gives commit crime; together they name a criminal offense.

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
刀刀dāo
Sound part声符shēngfú
井
井jǐng刑xíng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

刑 puts 刀 (knife) beside 井. The knife part shows the punishment idea, and 井 gives the sound.

Open 刑 →

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →

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 →

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

罪 puts 罒 (a net, written fully as 网) over 非 (mistake).

Open 罪 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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