罚 (fá): to punish, to penalize, to fine
罚 (fá) is a Chinese character meaning “to punish.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 罒 (structural), 讠 (structural) and 刂 (structural). It ranks #1210 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 罚 simplified form of 罰; to punish 刂 the accused 詈. Its radical form 罒 (net) appears in many related characters such as 网 (wǎng, net), 置 (zhì, to install), 罢 (bà, to stop).
Definitions
- to punish
- to penalize
- to fine
Etymology & Origin
ideographicSimplified form of 罰; to punish 刂 the accused 詈
Decomposition: ⿱罒⿰讠刂 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 罚 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 罚
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 罚球verb | fá qiú | penalty shot |
| 罚金noun | fá jīn | fine |
| 刑罚noun | xíng fá | sentence |
| 判罚verb | pàn fá | to penalize |
| 体罚verb | tǐ fá | corporal punishment |
| 责罚verb | zé fá | to punish |
| 惩罚性noun | chéng fá xìng | punitive |
| 重罚verb | zhòng fá | to punish severely |
| 主罚 | zhǔ fá | penalty (kick) |
| 罚没verb | fá mò | to impose a fine and confiscate (property) |
| 赏罚noun | shǎng fá | reward and punishment |
| 有罪不罚 | yǒu zuì bù fá | impunity |
| 罚不当罪phrase | fá bù dāng zuì | disproportionate punishment |
| 罚出场 | fá chū chǎng | (of a referee) to send a player off the field |
| 开罚单 | kāi fá dān | to issue an infringement notice |
罚 appears in 35 compound words: 46 as the first character, 40 as the last, and 14 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 罚 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
写好罚字需要掌握正确的笔画顺序。
xiě hǎo fá zì xū yāo zhǎng wò zhēng què de bǐ huà shùn xù .
To write the character "罚" correctly, one must master the proper stroke order.
大型车高龄驾驶 逾时工作轻罚
dà xíng chē gāo líng jià shǐ yú shí gōng zuò qīng fá
Elderly driving of large vehicles will be punished lightly for overtime work
教团看公费师困境 重罚无助校园留才
jiào tuán kàn gōng fèi shī kùn jìng chóng fá wú zhù jiào yuán liú cái
The teaching group looks at the plight of publicly-funded teachers, and heavy fines do not help campus talent retention
赴日注意!乱丢“1物”恐触法 日媒:最高罚200万
fù rì zhù yì ! luàn diū 1 wù kǒng chù fǎ rì méi : zuì gāo fá 2 0 0 wàn
Attention to Japan! Throwing "1 thing" indiscriminately may violate the law Japanese media: The maximum fine is 2 million
2男沦为“钱骡” 无力缴罚款遭判监
2 nán 沦 wéi qián 骡 wú lì jiǎo fá kuǎn zāo pàn jiān
2 men became "money mules" and were sentenced to prison for not being able to pay the fine
百万YTR老高传遭拘罚18亿 扛布者:疑被中国政府“远洋捕捞”
bǎi wàn Y T R lǎo gāo chuán zāo jū fá 1 8 yì gāng bù zhě : yí bèi zhōng guó zhèng fǔ yuǎn yáng bǔ lāo
Millions of YTR Lao Gao was detained and fined 1.8 billion Cloth bearer: suspected of being "ocean-going fishing" by the Chinese government
触犯法律的人受到惩罚。
Chùfàn fǎlǜ de rén shòudào chéngfá.
People who break the law are punished.
肯因超速被罚款7000日元。
Kěn yīn chāosù bèi fákuǎn 7000 Rìyuán.
Ken was fined 7,000 yen for speeding.
您为什么惩罚他们？
Nín wèishénme chéngfá tāmen?
What are you punishing them for?
这个点球的判罚正确吗？
Zhège diǎnqiú de pàn fá zhèngquè ma?
Is the incurrence of this penalty correct?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 罚 (fá) mean in Chinese?
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What are the components of 罚?
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What characters sound the same as 罚 (fá)?
Is 罚 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 罚 with real-time feedback
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