犯人 (fàn rén) — criminal; prisoner; convict | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

criminalprisonerconvict

Measure word · 个

Examples

犯人。
Nà ge fàn rén bèi pàn le shí nián yǒu qī tú xíng.
That convict was sentenced to ten years in prison.
犯人。
Jiān yù lǐ de fàn rén měi tiān dōu yào láo dòng.
The prisoners in the jail have to work every day.
。
Jǐng fāng zhèng zài zhuī bǔ yì míng zài táo fàn rén.
The police are pursuing a fugitive criminal.

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.

犯fànoffender

犯 means offender and 人 means person, so together they refer to a person who has committed a crime.

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

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.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Appears in

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