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重刑 (zhòng xíng) — severe punishment (especially a harsh prison sentence or corporal punishment)

Definition

A legal/policy term meaning 'severe punishment' — harsh sentences or corporal punishment imposed under criminal law. The first character carries the sense of 'heavy, severe' (not 'repeat').

noun
severe punishment (especially a harsh prison sentence or corporal punishment)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 重刑。
    Zhè ge zuì fàn bèi pàn chǔ le zhòng xíng.
    This criminal was sentenced to severe punishment.
  • ，重刑。
    Duì yú yán zhòng fàn zuì, fǎ lǜ guī dìng le zhòng xíng.
    For serious crimes, the law stipulates severe punishment.
  • 重刑，。
    zhòng xíng Néng fǒu yǒu xiào è zhì fàn zuì, yì zhí cún zài zhēng yì.
    Whether severe punishment can effectively deter crime has always been controversial.

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.

重zhòngsevere
刑xíngpunishment

重刑 uses 重 (severe) with 刑 (punishment) to mean a severe punishment.

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
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 →

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
刀刀dāo
Sound part声符shēngfú
井
井jǐng刑xíng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

刑 puts 刀 (knife) beside 井. The knife part shows the punishment idea, and 井 gives the sound.

Open 刑 →
Appears in
Law & Justice

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