奸 (jiān) — illicit sexual relations, including adultery and rape (used in compounds); evil, treacherous, or unscrupulous (used in compounds)
Definition
奸 (jiān) is a bound morpheme meaning 'illicit sex' (adultery, rape) or 'treacherous/wicked' (as in 奸商). It almost never stands alone — it only appears inside compounds like 通奸, 强奸, or 奸诈.
bound form
illicit sexual relationsincluding adultery and rape (used in compounds)eviltreacherousor unscrupulous (used in compounds)
Easily confused
- 好hǎolook-alikegood
- 间jiānsound-alike(classifier) for rooms, offices, and other enclosed spaces
- 扞hànlook-alike(bound form, literary) contradictory, incompatible (used in 扞格)
- 尖jiānsound-alike(adjective) sharp, pointed; shrill, tapering, piercing; acute, keen
- 杆gǎnlook-alike(noun) a stick, pole, or lever
- 煎jiānsound-aliketo pan-fry; to sauté
Examples
- ，。Tā men de jiān qíng bèi fā xiàn hòu, hūn yīn pò liè le.After their illicit affair was discovered, the marriage broke down.
- 。jiān Wū nǚ xìng shì yán zhòng de fàn zuì xíng wéi.Raping women is a serious crime.
- 。Zhè ge jiān shāng wèi le zhuàn qián bù zé shǒu duàn.This unscrupulous merchant will do anything to make money.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
奸 is written with 女 (woman) on the left and 干 on the right; the evidence says 干 gives the sound and 女 marks the meaning.
Appears in
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