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刑罚 (xíng fá) — penalty; punishment (legal)

Definition

noun
penaltypunishment (legal)

Examples

  • 刑罚。
    Tā yīn fàn zuì shòu dào le yán lì de xíng fá.
    He received a severe penalty for committing a crime.
  • 刑罚。
    Fǎ guān rèn wéi zhè zhǒng xíng fá guò yú yán lì.
    The judge thinks this kind of punishment is too severe.
  • 刑罚。
    Fǎ lǜ guī dìng le míng què de xíng fá.
    The law specifies clear penalties.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

刑xíngpunishment
罚fápenalty

刑 and 罚 both point to punishment, so the word means a legal penalty.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 罰; 罚 is its simplified writing.

  • 詈詈lìabuse verbally
  • 刀刀dāoknife

The traditional form 罰 pairs 詈 (abuse verbally) with 刀 (knife); verbal abuse and improper use of a knife represent a crime. The simplified 罚 is a later abbreviation.

Open 罚 →
Appears in
Law & Justice

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