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犯罪率 (fàn zuì lǜ) — crime rate

Definition

noun
crime rate

Examples

  • 犯罪率。
    Zhè ge chéng shì de fàn zuì lǜ yì zhí hěn gāo.
    The crime rate in this city has always been high.
  • 犯罪率。
    Qù nián quán guó de fàn zuì lǜ xià jiàng le bǎi fēn zhī shí.
    The national crime rate dropped by ten percent last year.
  • 犯罪率。
    Zhèng fǔ zhèng zài cǎi qǔ cuò shī jiàng dī fàn zuì lǜ.
    The government is taking measures to reduce the crime rate.

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.

犯罪crime
犯fàncommit罪zuìcrime
动宾Verb + object
率lǜrate

“犯罪” gives crime and “率” gives rate, together expressing the rate of crimes.

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 →

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

率 was drawn as a bird-catching net, with a stick above and below. In the form described, the lower horizontal stroke is missing, so the whole shape represents a rope.

Open 率 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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