犯 (fàn): to violate; to commit (a crime…

Meanings

1 to violate; to commit (a crime or mistake)
2 criminal; offender
3 to have an attack of (illness)

Characters

犯

fàn

to commit (a crime); criminal

Examples

他犯了一个大错误。

Tā fàn le yīgè dà cuòwù.

He made a big mistake.

犯法的人要受到惩罚。

Fànfǎ de rén yào shòudào chéngfá.

Those who break the law must be punished.

老毛病又犯了。

Lǎomáobìng yòu fàn le.

The old problem has flared up again.

你犯不着生气。

Nǐ fànbuzháo shēngqì.

It's not worth getting angry about.

Tips

usage

犯不着 (fàn bu zháo) means 'it's not worth it' — a very useful colloquial expression. 犯得着吗？ = 'Is it really worth it?'

memory

犭(dog radical) + 㔾 — the dog radical appears in characters related to animal-like behavior. A criminal 'acts like a beast.'

Components

radical

犭 quǎn

dog; beast (radical)

Left beast radical — the side-stacking form of 犬 (dog). Originally pictured a dog rearing up; in 犯 it suggests an animal pouncing or attacking. Family: 狗 (dog), 猫 (cat), 狂 (wild), 猎 (hunt). The radical frames the meaning as a violent or transgressive act, like a beast crossing into forbidden territory.

semantic

㔾 jié

kneeling person

Right 㔾 — a stylised kneeling/crouched person. The whole character is a compound ideograph: a beast (犭) attacking a kneeling figure (㔾), capturing the violent overstepping that gives 犯 its meanings 'commit (a crime), violate, offend, transgress.' Phonetic role secondary; the meaning leans semantic.