刑 (xíng): punishment, penalty, sentence
刑 (xíng) is a Chinese character meaning “punishment.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 开 (structural) and 刂 (structural). It ranks #1086 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 刑 a man 刂 in jail 开. Its radical form 刂 (knife) appears in many related characters such as 分 (fēn, to divide), 别 (bié, to leave), 到 (dào, to reach).
Definitions
- punishment
- penalty
- sentence
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA man 刂 in jail 开
Decomposition: ⿰开刂 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 死刑noun | sǐ xíng | death penalty |
| 刑事adjective | xíng shì | criminal |
| 服刑verb | fú xíng | to serve a prison sentence |
| 刑警noun | xíng jǐng | criminal police (abbr. for 刑事警察) |
| 刑期noun | xíng qī | prison term |
| 行刑verb | xíng xíng | to carry out a (death) sentence |
| 缓刑verb | huǎn xíng | suspended sentence |
| 判刑verb | pàn xíng | to sentence (to prison etc) |
| 酷刑noun | kù xíng | cruelty |
| 减刑verb | jiǎn xíng | to reduce penalty |
| 严刑noun | yán xíng | strict law |
| 绞刑verb | jiǎo xíng | to execute by hanging |
| 刑罚noun | xíng fá | sentence |
| 无期徒刑noun | wú qī tú xíng | life imprisonment |
| 刑讯verb | xíng xùn | interrogation under torture |
刑 appears in 91 compound words: 42 as the first character, 46 as the last, and 12 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 刑 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
criminal investigation bureau; officer of the criminal investigation bureau
criminal investigation bureau; officer of the criminal investigation bureau
Example Sentences
这个刑字在古汉语中有不同的含义。
zhè gě xíng zì zài gǔ hàn yǔ zhōng yǒu bù tóng de hán yì .
The character "刑" carries different meanings in classical Chinese.
潜入国小偷拍女童如厕判7年2月 恶男二审刑度大减改判2年
qián rù guó xiǎo tōu pāi nǚ tóng rú cè pàn 7 nián 2 yuè è nán èr shěn xíng dù dà jiǎn gǎi pàn 2 nián
Infiltrated the elementary school to secretly photograph the girl going to the toilet and was sentenced to 7 years and 2 years, and the sentence of the evil man was greatly reduced in the second instance and changed to 2 years
...举期间转贴呼吁杯葛选举贴文 判囚2月准缓刑1年半
. . . jǔ qī jiān zhuǎn tiē hū xū bēi 葛 xuǎn jǔ tiē wén pàn qiú 2 yuè zhǔn huǎn xíng 1 nián bàn
... During the election, he reposted a post calling for a boycott of the election and was sentenced to two months in prison and suspended for one and a half years
军车撞死母女! 驾驶兵背锅判刑10个月
jūn chē zhuàng sǐ mǔ nǚ ! jià shǐ bīng bèi guō pàn xíng 1 0 gè yuè
The military vehicle hit the mother and daughter to death! The driver was sentenced to 10 months in prison
男子上月参与反政府示威 传被判死刑
nán zǐ shàng yuè cān yǔ fǎn zhèng fǔ shì wēi chuán bèi pàn sǐ xíng
A man was sentenced to death for participating in anti-government demonstrations last month
桃园人妻晨间泼酸毁夫双眼 获缓刑理由曝光
táo yuán rén qī chén jiān pō suān huǐ fū shuāng yǎn huò huǎn xíng lǐ yóu pù guāng
Taoyuan wife splashed acid in the morning and destroyed her husband's eyes, and the reason for the suspended sentence was exposed
我们应该废除死刑。
Wǒmen yīnggāi fèichú sǐxíng.
We should abolish the death penalty.
汤姆正在服无期徒刑。
Tāngmǔ zhèngzài fú wúqī túxíng.
Tom is serving a life sentence.
汤姆有可能会被判无期徒刑。
Tāngmǔ yǒukěnéng huì bèi pàn wúqītúxíng.
Tom could face life in prison.
仇恨言论会煽动私刑。
Chóuhèn yánlùn huì shāndòng sī xíng.
Hate speech incites lynchings.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 刑 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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