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罪孽深重 (zuì niè shēn chóng) — extremely sinful; guilty of heinous sins

Definition

Literary idiom meaning 'sin runs deep' — used for serious moral or religious wrongdoing, often with a Buddhist or literary tone. Stronger and more formal than just saying 罪恶.

idiom
extremely sinfulguilty of heinous sins

Examples

  • ，罪孽深重。
    Zhè ge zuì fàn shā rén fàng huǒ, zhēn shì zuì niè shēn chóng.
    This criminal has committed murder and arson — truly grievously sinful.
  • 罪孽深重，。
    Xiǎo shuō lǐ nà ge fǎn pài zuì niè shēn chóng, zuì hòu dé dào le yīng yǒu de chéng fá.
    The villain in the novel was extremely sinful and finally got his just punishment.
  • ，罪孽深重。
    Wǒ zuó tiān sā huǎng bèi fā xiàn le, jué de zì jǐ zuì niè shēn chóng.
    I was caught lying yesterday and feel terribly guilty.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

罪孽sin
罪zuìsin孽nièsin
联合Coordinate
深重deep and heavy
深shēndeep重zhòngheavy
联合Coordinate

罪 and 孽 both mean sin, while 深 and 重 mean deep and heavy; together they say sin is heavy.

Characters in this word

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 →

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
子子zǐchild
Sound part声符shēngfú
薛
薛xuē孽niè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

孽 uses 子 to show it is about a child, and 薛 to give its sound.

Open 孽 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𥥍
𥥍𥥍深shēn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

深 is built from 氵, the side form of 水 “water”, and 𥥍, which supplies the sound.

Open 深 →

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
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
東
東dōng重zhòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

重 developed from a picture of a man carrying a bag, with 人 for the man and 東 for the bag; a later ground element was folded into the form.

Open 重 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesReligion & Belief

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