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轮奸 (lún jiān) — gang rape

Definition

轮奸 (lúnjiān) is a legal and journalistic noun for 'gang rape' — a single-word compound used in reports and court contexts, not in everyday speech. It names the crime; describing an act uses 轮奸 as object or attributive (e.g. 轮奸案, 轮奸罪).

noun
gang rape

Examples

  • 轮奸。
    Zhè qǐ lún jiān àn jiàn yǐn qǐ le shè huì de guǎng fàn guān zhù.
    This gang rape case attracted widespread social attention.
  • 轮奸。
    Jǐng fāng zhèng zài diào chá yì qǐ lún jiān shì jiàn.
    The police are investigating a gang rape incident.
  • 轮奸。
    Shòu hài zhě yǒng gǎn dì zhàn chū lái zhǐ kòng lún jiān.
    The victim bravely came forward to accuse the gang rape.

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.

轮lúnby turns
奸jiānrape

轮 (by turns) and 奸 (rape) combine to mean rape by turns.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 輪; 轮 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūcarriage
Sound part声符shēngfú
侖
侖lún輪lún
Same sound today

The traditional form 輪 uses 車, a carriage, and 侖 for the sound; the simplified 轮 is a later shorthand.

Open 轮 →

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
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
干
干gān奸jiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

奸 is written with 女 (woman) on the left and 干 on the right; the evidence says 干 gives the sound and 女 marks the meaning.

Open 奸 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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