强奸 (qiáng jiān) — to rape; to sexually assault

Definition

A formal/legal term for rape or sexual assault — used in news, law, and official contexts, not in casual speech.

verb

to rapeto sexually assault

强奸。
Tā yīn qiáng jiān bèi pàn le shí nián tú xíng.
He was sentenced to ten years in prison for rape.
。
Fǎ lǜ yán lì dǎ jī qiáng jiān fàn zuì.
The law severely punishes rape crimes.
强奸。
Shòu hài zhě yǒng gǎn dì zhàn chū lái zhǐ kòng qiáng jiān.
The victim bravely came forward to accuse the rape.

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.

强 means force and 奸 means rape, giving the idea of forcible rape.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 強; 强 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 強 pairs an insect component with a sound component; this explains 強, not the simplified 强.

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

女干奸

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

干

干gān奸jiān

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

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