惩 (chéng) · to punish, to reprimand, to warn

Meanings

1 to punish
2 to reprimand
3 to warn

Characters

惩

chéng

to punish/to reprimand

Examples

HSK 5

惩前毖后是中国古代的治国之道。

Chéngqián-bìhòu shì Zhōngguó gǔdài de zhìguó zhī dào.

'Punish past errors to prevent future ones' is an ancient Chinese principle of governance.

HSK 6

必须严惩违法者。

Bìxū yánchéng wéifǎ zhě.

Those who break the law must be severely punished.

Tips

usage

惩 is a classical/literary character that rarely appears alone in modern Chinese. It is most common in compounds: 惩罚 (to punish), 严惩 (to punish severely), 奖惩 (rewards and punishments), and the idiom 惩前毖后.

Components

radical

心 xīn

heart; mind

Bottom heart radical anchors the meaning in intent: punishment in classical Chinese is a matter of the heart - chastening the offender's mind so they reform. Same psychological framing as 思 thought, 念 to miss, 想 to think - all bottom-心 characters.

phonetic

征 zhēng

to march; to subdue

Top 征 supplies the sound - zhēng drifting to chéng through historical sound change. 征 means "to march out and subdue" (彳 walking + 正 straight), so it also lends semantic muscle: punishment as a corrective expedition. Same kernel appears in 政 government, 整 to arrange.