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犯罪 (fàn zuì) — to commit a crime

Definition

犯罪 (fàn zuì) is the verb phrase 'to commit a crime,' usable in legal contexts. 犯 alone also means 'to commit (a crime)' but is narrower and often part of compounds like 触犯.

verb
to commit a crime

Examples

  • 。
    Tā cóng lái méi yǒu fàn guò zuì.
    He has never committed a crime.
  • 犯罪。
    Rèn hé rén dōu bù néng fàn zuì ér bú shòu chéng fá.
    No one can commit a crime and escape punishment.
  • 犯罪。
    Yù fáng fàn zuì shì jǐng chá de zhòng yào gōng zuò.
    Preventing crime is an important job of the police.

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
罪zuìcrime

犯, to commit, and 罪, crime, combine to mean doing something criminal.

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 →

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

罪 puts 罒 (a net, written fully as 网) over 非 (mistake).

Open 罪 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-91000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsCrime & Police2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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