罪 (zuì): guilt, crime, fault
罪 (zuì) is a Chinese character meaning “guilt.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 罒 (structural) and 非 (structural). It ranks #718 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 罪 a net 罒 of wrongdoing 非. Its radical form 罒 (net) appears in many related characters such as 网 (wǎng, net), 置 (zhì, to install), 罚 (fá, to punish).
Definitions
- guilt
- crime
- fault
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA net 罒 of wrongdoing 非
Decomposition: ⿱罒非 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 罪 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 犯罪verb | fàn zuì | to commit a crime |
| 罪犯noun | zuì fàn | criminal |
| 罪名noun | zuì míng | charge |
| 无罪adjective | wú zuì | innocent |
| 罪行noun | zuì xíng | crime |
| 罪恶noun | zuì è | crime |
| 认罪verb | rèn zuì | to admit guilt |
| 定罪verb | dìng zuì | to convict (sb of a crime) |
| 谋杀罪 | móu shā zuì | murder |
| 罪案noun | zuì àn | a criminal case |
| 罪过noun | zuì guo | sin |
| 重罪noun | zhòng zuì | serious crime |
| 罪人noun | zuì rén | sinner |
| 赎罪verb | shú zuì | to atone for one's crime |
| 罪孽noun | zuì niè | sin |
罪 appears in 100 compound words: 19 as the first character, 73 as the last, and 8 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 罪 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (24)
to offer someone a humble apology, requesting punishment and forgiveness
to offer someone a humble apology, requesting punishment and forgiveness
Showing 12 of 24 idioms containing 罪.
Example Sentences
他因犯罪被判入狱，失去了自由。
Tā yīn fànzuì bèi pàn rù yù, shīqù le zìyóu.
He was sentenced to prison for committing a crime and lost his freedom.
黎智英欺诈罪上诉得直获撤刑 18年“勾外罪”提早服刑...
lí zhì yīng qī zhà zuì shàng sù dé zhí huò chè xíng 1 8 nián gōu wài zuì tí zǎo fú xíng . . .
Jimmy Lai's fraud appeal was directly withdrawn and his sentence was withdrawn 18 years early for the crime of "hooking outside"...
尹錫悅不服發動內亂罪一審無期徒刑判決 提出上訴
尹 錫 悅 bù fú 發 動 內 亂 zuì yī 審 無 qī tú xíng pàn 決 tí chū shàng 訴
Yoon Suk-yeol appeals against first-instance life sentence for inciting rebellion
高金3大罪涉貪超過800萬 防火牆將崩塌
gāo jīn dà zuì shè 貪 chāo 過 萬 fáng huǒ 牆 將 bēng tā
Three Major Crimes at Gaojin Involve Over 8 Million Yuan in Corruption; Firewall Set to Collapse
...守黨高層:國會應對安德魯、文德森展開叛國罪調查
. . . shǒu 黨 gāo 層 國 會 應 對 ān dé 魯 wén dé sēn zhǎn 開 pàn 國 zuì 調 chá
Senior Party Officials: Congress Should Launch Treason Investigations Against Andrew and Wendson
他因谋杀罪被绞死。
Tā yīn móushāzuì bèi jiǎosǐ.
He was hanged for murder.
说谎总是一种罪吗？
Shuōhuǎng zǒngshì yīzhǒng zuì ma?
Is it always a sin to tell a lie?
如果我是同志那又怎样？这能构成犯罪吗？
Rúguǒ wǒ shì tóngzhì nà yòu zěnyàng? zhè néng gòuchéng fànzuì ma?
And if I were gay, would that be a crime?
他否认参与了犯罪。
Tā fǒurèn cānyù le fànzuì.
He denied having taken part in the crime.
如果他犯了罪，他应该受到惩罚。
Rúguǒ tā fàn le zuì, tā yīnggāi shòudào chéngfá.
He must be fined if he breaks the law.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 罪 (zuì)?
Is 罪 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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