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判罚 (pàn fá) — to penalize (in general, e.g. legally or administratively); (in sports) to call a penalty or foul against a player

Definition

verb
to penalize (in general, e.g. legally or administratively)(in sports) to call a penalty or foul against a player

Examples

  • 判罚，。
    Fǎ yuàn pàn fá le zhè jiā gōng sī, fá kuǎn wǔ shí wàn yuán.
    The court penalized this company with a fine of 500,000 yuan.
  • 判罚，。
    Cái pàn pàn fá tā jì shù fàn guī, gěi le duì fāng fá qiú jī huì.
    The referee called a technical foul on him, giving the opponent a free-throw opportunity.
  • 判罚，。
    Xué xiào pàn fá le kǎo shì zuò bì de xué shēng, qǔ xiāo chéng jì.
    The school penalized the students who cheated on the exam and canceled their scores.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

判pànjudge
罚fápunish

判 refers to judging or deciding, and 罚 refers to punishing; together they mean to decide on a 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dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
半
半bàn判pàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

判 combines 刀, a knife, with 半, which provides the sound.

Open 判 →

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 & JusticeSports & Athletics

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