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罪恶 (zuì è) — crime; evil

Definition

罪恶 is an abstract noun for 'evil / crime,' used for moral wickedness or criminal acts as a concept rather than a single offense. Synonym of 罪.

noun
crimeevil

Examples

  • 罪恶。
    Tā fàn xià le bù kě ráo shù de zuì è.
    He committed an unforgivable crime.
  • 罪恶。
    zuì è De niàn tou zài tā nǎo zhōng yì shǎn ér guò.
    A thought of evil flashed through his mind.
  • 罪恶。
    Zhè ge shè huì chōng mǎn le zuì è.
    This society is full of crime and evil.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

罪zuìcrime
恶èevil

罪 denotes crime, and 恶 denotes evil, forming a pair of related bad deeds.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 惡; 恶 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
亞
亞yā惡è
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 惡 pairs 心 (heart) as the meaning part with 亞 (yā) as the sound part; the simplified 恶 is a later shorthand.

Open 恶 →
Appears in
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