疑犯 (yí fàn) — (noun) criminal suspect

Definition

A formal/legal term for 'criminal suspect' — someone suspected of a crime. More official than colloquial synonyms like 嫌疑人.

noun

criminal suspect

Measure word · 个

疑犯。
Jǐng fāng zhèng zài zhuī bǔ zhè míng yí fàn.
The police are pursuing this criminal suspect.
疑犯。
Fǎ tíng rèn dìng gāi yí fàn yǒu zuì.
The court found the suspect guilty.
疑犯。
Lǜ shī zhèng zài wèi yí fàn biàn hù.
The lawyer is defending the suspect.

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.

疑yísuspected

犯fànoffender; criminal

疑 means suspected, and 犯 refers to an offender; together they mean a criminal suspect.

Characters in this word

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

疑 depicts a standing figure 大 with a tilted, open-mouthed head 夂 and a cane 丨, a confused person looking around for direction.

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.

Appears in