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犯案 (fàn àn) — to be discovered and brought to justice for a crime; to have one's crime found out

Definition

犯案 (fàn àn) focuses on the moment a crime is exposed and the perpetrator is caught, not on committing the crime itself. Often used in crime-reporting contexts.

verb
to be discovered and brought to justice for a crimeto have one's crime found out

Examples

  • 犯案。
    Tā yīn wèi duō cì fàn àn ér bèi jǐng fāng dài bǔ.
    He was arrested by the police because he had committed crimes repeatedly and was discovered.
  • ，。
    Zhè ge fàn zuì tuán huǒ céng jīng fàn guò jǐ cì àn, zhōng yú bèi zhuā zhù le.
    This criminal gang had committed several crimes that were discovered, and finally got caught.
  • 犯案，。
    fàn àn Hòu tā táo dào le wài dì, dàn zuì zhōng hái shì luò wǎng le.
    After his crime was discovered, he fled to another place, but eventually he was caught.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

犯fàncommit
案àncase

犯 means commit and 案 means case, so 犯案 refers to committing 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
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 →

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
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
安
安ān案àn
Same sound today

案 pairs 木, a wood/tree shape, with 安, which is used for its sound.

Open 案 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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