犯

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to violate; to offend; to assault; criminal; crime; to make a mistake; recurrence (of mistake or sth bad)

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

犭 meaning “dog” + 㔾 sound ( jié )

Components 犭㔾

criminal · Heisig RSH #1122

pack of wild dogs + fingerprint

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
犯不上	fàn bu shàng	see 犯不著\|犯不着[fan4 bu5 zhao2]
以下犯上	yǐ xià fàn shàng	to disrespect one's superiors; to offend one's elders
知法犯法	zhī fǎ fàn fǎ	to know the law and break it (idiom); consciously going against the rules
井水不犯河水	jǐng shuǐ bù fàn hé shuǐ	(saying) everyone minds their own business
河水不犯井水	hé shuǐ bù fàn jǐng shuǐ	see 井水不犯河水[jing3 shui3 bu4 fan4 he2 shui3]
犯得上	fàn de shàng	worthwhile (often in rhetorical questions, implying not worthwhile)
犯罪分子	fàn zuì fèn zǐ	variant of 犯罪分子[fan4 zui4 fen4 zi3]
犯罪分子	fàn zuì fèn zǐ	criminal; offender
犯上作乱	fàn shàng zuò luàn	to rebel against the emperor (idiom)
犯罪行为	fàn zuì xíng wéi	criminal activity
犯不着	fàn bu zháo	not worthwhile
人犯	rén fàn	criminal; culprit; suspect (old)
犯人	fàn rén	convict; prisoner; criminal
政治犯	zhèng zhì fàn	political prisoner
杀人犯	shā rén fàn	murderer; homicide
犯上	fàn shàng	to offend one's superiors
犯法	fàn fǎ	to break the law
主犯	zhǔ fàn	culprit
犯事	fàn shì	to break the law; to commit a crime
犯得着	fàn de zháo	worthwhile (often in rhetorical questions, implying not worthwhile); also written 犯得上[fan4…

Characters sharing the sound component 㔾 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
㔾 sound part	jié	seal; kneeling person
氾	fán	to flood, to inundate, to overflow