HSK Level 5

处罚

chǔ fá

punish; penalize; punishment

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Example Sentences

违反交通规则要受到处罚。

wéifǎn jiāotōng guīzé yào shòudào chǔfá.

Violating traffic rules will result in punishment.

考试作弊会被处罚。

kǎoshì zuòbì bèi chǔfá.

Cheating in exams will be punished.

如果你违反了法律,你将受到处罚。

rúguǒ nǐ wéifǎnle fǎlǜ, nǐ jiāng shòudào chǔfá.

If you break the law, you will be punished.

Synonyms

惩罚 (chéngfá)

punishment

制裁 (zhìcái)

sanction

Antonyms

奖励 (jiǎnglì)

reward

表扬 (biǎoyǎng)

praise

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 处罚 (chǔfá) for "punishment" is composed of two characters: 处 (chǔ) and 罚 (fá). The character 处 originally meant "to place" or "to put", and in the context of punishment, it refers to the act of imposing a penalty or sanction. The character 罚, on the other hand, means "to fine" or "to punish", and it is often used in legal contexts to refer to the imposition of a penalty by a court or other authority. Together, the two characters 处罚 form a compound word that specifically refers to the act of punishing someone for an offense or wrongdoing.