TongTong
Sign in

叛国罪 (pàn guó zuì) — treason

Definition

noun
treason

Examples

  • 叛国罪。
    Tā bèi pàn le pàn guó zuì.
    He was sentenced for treason.
  • 叛国罪，。
    Zhè ge zuì míng shì pàn guó zuì, zuì gāo kě pàn sǐ xíng.
    This charge is treason, and the maximum penalty is death.
  • 叛国罪。
    Lì shǐ shàng hěn shǎo yǒu rén yīn pàn guó zuì bèi chǔ jué.
    In history, very few people have been executed for treason.

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.

叛国betray country
叛pànbetray国guócountry
动宾Verb + object
罪zuìcrime

“叛国” means betraying one's country and “罪” means crime, so the word names the crime of treason.

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
反反fǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
半
半bàn叛pàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

叛 pairs 反 as its meaning part with 半 as its sound part.

Open 叛 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 國; 国 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéiclosure
Sound part声符shēngfú
或
或huò國guó
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 國 uses 囗 to show closure and 或 to give the sound.

Open 国 →

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 & PoliceLaw & Justice

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.