xíng
noun #7,665

Meanings

  1. 1 punishment; penalty
  2. 2 sentence (legal); torture

Examples

HSK 6
Tā bèi pàn le xíng.
He was sentenced.
HSK 6
Gǔdài de xíngfá fēicháng cánkù.
Punishments in ancient times were extremely cruel.
HSK 7-9
Tā fúxíng sān nián hòu bèi shìfàng le.
He was released after serving a three-year sentence.

Tips

usage
appears in many legal / criminal compounds: 刑法 (criminal law), 刑事 (criminal), 刑罚 (punishment), 服刑 (to serve a sentence), 判刑 (to sentence).

Components

radical
dāo
knife (radical form of 刀)
Side-knife radical on the right - the compressed form of used in punishment and cutting verbs ( cut, scissors, judge). Marks as referring to corporal punishment in its original sense: penal mutilation administered by blade, hence by extension any legally imposed penalty.
phonetic
kāi
open; here a graphic residue of 井 (well)
Left looks like today but was originally , the well / grid meaning 'frame, mould, structured form'. began as 'the frame in which punishment is administered'. Modern retains the visual outline and supplies the sound: kāi to xíng via a long k / x palatalization, also seen in (shape) - same left, same xíng reading.

Stroke Order

xíng