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囚犯 (qiú fàn) — prisoner, convict

Definition

囚犯 emphasizes the serving-prisoner angle: a convict already incarcerated (note 关押 in the example). 罪犯 is broader — any criminal, including those not yet jailed.

noun
prisonerconvict
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 囚犯。
    Jǐng fāng zhuā huò le sān míng qiú fàn.
    The police captured three prisoners.
  • 囚犯。
    Zhè suǒ jiān yù guān yā le wǔ bǎi duō míng qiú fàn.
    This prison holds more than five hundred convicts.
  • 囚犯。
    qiú fàn Bèi yǔn xǔ měi tiān qiáng zhì láo dòng bā xiǎo shí.
    The prisoners are forced to work eight hours a day.

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.

囚qiúimprisoned
犯fàncriminal

囚 points to imprisonment and 犯 to a criminal, so 囚犯 means an imprisoned criminal.

Characters in this word

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

  • 囗囗wéibox, enclosure
  • 人人rénperson

囚 puts 人 (person) inside 囗 (box, enclosure), making a person enclosed, hence prisoner.

Open 囚 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Crime & Police5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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