犯罪
fànzuì · HSK 6
commit crime/offense
🚔 犯 = violate/offend + 罪 = crime/guilt
犯 (fàn) means to violate or transgress; 罪 (zuì) means crime or guilt. Together: to commit a crime. 罪 decomposes into 罒 (net) over 非 (wrong) — the law's net catches wrongdoing.
犯 — dog radical 犭 + 㔾 (kneeling person)
Originally a semantic-phonetic compound: the dog radical 犭 suggested an animal attacking, while 㔾 (a kneeling figure) hinted at the sound and the idea of submission or transgression. The meaning broadened from 'a beast attacking a person' to 'to violate, offend, commit (a crime),' giving modern senses like 'criminal' and 'to infringe.'
罪 — net 罒 (top) + wrong 非 (bottom)
罪 combines 罒 (net) over 非 (wrong), suggesting catching wrongdoing in a net. Originally the character 辠 (with 自 nose + 辛 punishment) meant 'crime,' but Emperor Qin Shi Huang found 辠 too similar to 皇 (emperor) and replaced it with 罪. Today it means crime, guilt, or sin.