Taxonomy of meanings for 罪:　　

  • 罪 zuì (OC: sbuulʔ MC: dzuoi) 徂賄切 上 廣韻：【文字音義云辠從自辛也言辠人蹙鼻辛苦之憂始皇以辠字似皇乃改爲罪也徂賄切三 】
    • CRIME
      • nab.post-V{NUM}crime
      • nab[.post-N]one'sown crime/guilt
      • nabactcriminal offence, deliberate illegal act; punishable crime; grave fault
      • viactcommit a crime
      • vt+prep+Ncommit a crime against (Heaven etc)
      • vtoNcommit (a crime)
      • vibe criminal; be a criminal offence
      • vadVby criminal meansCH
      • vt+V/Ncommit a crime sanctioned with V/N (cf: 有罪當刖)DS
      • nabsocialinjustice (also from superiors!)CH
      • nab.post-Ncrime or fault of NCH
      • inadvertent> MISTAKE
        • nab.post-Nfault of (the not-necessarily human) NCH
      • declarative> ACCUSE
        • nabactcriminal accusation
        • vt+prep+N(blame), accuse, charge with a crime
        • vtoNlevel criminal charges against, hold criminally guilty/responsible; charge with a crime, take legal action against 下吏 "turn over to the prosecutor", 定罪; threaten legal action against;
        • vtoNpassivebe accused of a crime, be charged with crimes
        • vt[oN]raise accusations against people
        • v[adN]N=objthe person accused
      • subjective> GUILT
        • nabmoralcriminal guilt; criminal responsibility; 獄決罪定
        • nabspiritualguilt; moral fault
        • v[adN]nonreferentialone who is guilty of a crime; culprits
        • vadNcriminal (rebellion); guilty (prisoner)
        • vibe guilty of a crime
        • vtoNputativehold guilty of (death) 罪死
        • nab(post-N)socialthe guilt of the contextually determinate person
        • nab.post-NmoralN's moral mistake, N's criminal responsibility, N's faultCH
        • spiritual> SIN
          • nabactsin
        • declarative> BLAME
          • nabactthe blame for things that go wrong
          • vtoNpsychblame (oneself) 自罪
          • vtoNpsychblame (oneself) 罪己
          • vtoNputativeregard as guilty, hold (a person) guilty
          • vtoNdeclarativedeclare guilty
          • vt[oN]passivebe held resposible and charged with a crime forCH
          • person blamed> VILLAIN
            • objective> CRITICISE
              • vtoN(of persons with a certain authority) make strong criticism of
              • vtoNpassivebe criticised by
      • =?> NET

        Additional information about 罪

        說文解字:

          Criteria
        • CRITICISE

          1. The current general term for criticism is fēi 非 (ant. shì 是 "approve of").

          2. Fěi 誹 (ant. zàn 贊 "commend") is to criticise someone's views in a condescending humiliating way. See also SLANDER.

          3. Jī 譏 is part of the historian's standard repertoire and refers typically to historian's censure of the behaviour of historical personalities.

          4. Zuì 罪 may sometimes come to refer to strong criticism of a person's views and achievements. See ACCUSE

          5. Bàng 謗 refers to slanderous criticism, typically not to the fact but behind one's back. See also SLANDER.

        • INNOCENT

          1. The standard idiomatic phrase for innocence is bù gū 不辜.

          2. Wú zuì 無罪 is a very common periphrastic phrase for general innocence.

        • PARDON

          1. Shè 赦 (ant. zuì 罪 "hold criminally responsible") refers specifically and technically to the legal act of pardoning a convicted culprit. The word has no current competitors in this technical meaning. But see FORGIVE.

          2. Shì 貰 is a rare word for a formal pardon.

        • ACCUSE

          [ASCENDING/DESCENDING]

          [BENEVOLENT/MALEVOLENT]

          [FALSE/TRUE]

          [INFORMAL/OFFICIAL]

          [INTENSE/WEAK]

          [PUBLIC/PRIVATE]

          1. The most current general word for accusing someone of something with either good or evil intent is zé 責.

          [GENERAL], [NEUTRAL]

          2. Sù 訴 refers to an informal accusation from the party that maintains it has suffered injustice, and this word became current in Han times.

          [INFORMAL], [MALEVOLENT]

          3. Zuì 罪 typically refers to a superior or king raising criminal charges against someone under his jurisdiction, but occasionally the word is used in an extended way to refer to strong criticism offered by anyone with authority.

          [DESCENDING], [NEUTRAL], [OFFICIAL]

          4. Hé 劾 refers to formal impeachment and the starting of formal criminal proceedings against a culprit, and the accuser in this case tends to be a person of some social standing, normally of high bureaucratic status; in Han times hé 劾 refers to the passing judgment after such a formal procedure.

          [DESCENDING], [INTENSE], [NEUTRAL], [OFFICIAL]

          5. Qiǎn 譴 refers to formal more or less serious accusations against officials raised by anyone, including ordinary persons.

          [ASCENDING], [INTENSE], [OFFICIAL]

          6. Wū 誣 is occasionally used for making false formal accusations against some person, and the word may even refer to false self-incrimination.

          [FALSE], [INFORMAL], [MALEVOLENT]

          7. Zèn 譖 refers generally to slanderous attacks, and sometimes - imperceptibly - the word can refer to something more like slanderous accusations. But the distinctions always seems to remain unclear. See SLANDER.

          [FALSE], [INFORMAL], [MALEVOLENT]

          8. Kòng 控 occasionally refers to a formal complaint directed against the authorities.

          [ASCENDING], [OFFICIAL]

          9. Ga4o 告 commonly refers to the making of public complaints and accusations.

        • CRIME

          1. The current general word for a serious legal transgression is zuì 罪 (ant. gōng 功 "merit"), and the current general word for a minor legal transgression is guò 過 (ant. xiào 效 "positive contribution").

          2. Yóu 尤 refers generally to morally disreputable behaviour.

          3. Jiù 咎 (ant. láo 勞 "obtain merits") refers to an action for which one deserves blame.

          4. Dào 盜 (ant.* dé 德 "virtue") refers to morally and legally outrageous behaviour.

          5. Yuè 越 can come to refer to a failure to keep within the boundaries set by one's social status or office.

          6. Gū 辜 (ant. xún 勛 "significant contribution") is an archaising word referring to serious crimes at an early stage, but later commonly used (mostly in negated form) to refer to any crime.

          7. Tè 忒, qiān 愆, and shěng 眚 refer to a minor but culpable error.

          8. Qiān 愆 refers to a minor mistake in procedure.

        • ATTACK

          [ASCENDING/DESCENDING]

          [CIVIL/MILITARY]

          [COMMENDATORY/DEROGATORY]

          [COVERT/OVERT]

          [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

          [LARGE-SCALE/SMALL-SCALE]

          1. The general word for any attack is gōng 攻 (ant. shǒu 守 "defend"; success kè 克 ) which can be used in a general sense referring to all kinds of attack, although that word does also have the specific meaning of a pointed campaign against a certain locality. (Note 戰必勝，攻必克。 )

          [GENERAL]

          2. Fá 伐 refers to a large-scale typically destructive formal attack by one state on another, typically formally announced, and with much beating of drums.

          [DESCENDING], [MILITARY!], [LARGE-SCALE!], [OVERT]

          3. Qīn 侵 refers to a less formal attack, typically unannounced beforehand, and typically aimed at taking the enemy's territory.

          [COVERT!], [DEROGATORY], [MILITARY], [SPECIFIC]

          4. Xí 襲 refers to a surreptitious attack, on the sly, without any self-righteous pomp.

          [COVERT+], [MILITARY], [SPECIFIC]

          5. Zhēng 征 refers to a typically punitive campain of some size against a state, construed as being of lower status.

          [COMMENDATORY], [DESCENDING], [MILITARY], [LARGE-SCALE], [OVERT]

          6. Tǎo 討 refers to a an extended explicitly punitive campaign by someone who construes himself as being in moral authority and entitled to uphold rectitude and morality through warfare. (Also figurative as in 天討有罪 "Heaven punishes those who are guilty". See PUNISH)

          [COMMENDATORY], [DESCENDING+], [MILITARY], [OVERT]

          7. Wéi 圍 refers specifically to military attack by surrouding the enemy.

          [MILITARY], [OVERT], [SPECIFIC]

          8. Kòu 寇 refers derogatorily to a wanton enemy attack.

          [DEROGATORY+], [MILITARY]

        • GUILT

          1. The dominant standard general word for any kind of guilt, large or small, is zuì 罪 (ant. gōng 功 "merit"), but this does not refer to any feelings of guilt; the general term for feelings of guilt is jiù 疚 REGRET.

          2. Qiān 愆, (sometimes written qiān 騫 ) refers to slight guilt or responsibility for a mistake.

          3. Yóu 尤 refers to the blame one suffers for a misdeed.

          For zéi 賊, a dramatic derogatory term referring to abject villainy, see VILLAIN.

          Word relations
        • Ant: (CRIME)惡/WICKED The most current and general word for wickedness is probably è 惡 (ant. shàn 善 "good"), but it must be noted that in early texts the word is more current in the meaning of physical ugliness.
        • Ant: (CRIME)功/MERIT The current general word for achievements of any kind is gōng 功.
        • Object: (CRIME)免/PARDON Miǎn 免 refers to an administrative act allowing a culprit to avoid being punished for his crime.
        • Object: (CRIME)赦/PARDON Shè 赦 (ant. zuì 罪 "hold criminally responsible") refers specifically and technically to the legal act of pardoning a convicted culprit.
        • Contrast: (CRIME)失/MISTAKE The most current general word for a mistake is probably shī 失 (ant. dé 得 "get things right") refers generally to an inadvertent mistake in action, and normally of minor kind.
        • Contrast: (GUILT)禍/DISASTER The most common general word for disasters is huò 禍 (ant. fú 福 "good fortune") which has no connotations of any metaphysical kind. (In OBI the character currently transcribed as huò 禍 - and closely related to 占 - refers not only to disasters as such, but particularly to disastrous omens.)
        • Contrast: (CRIME)惡/WICKED The most current and general word for wickedness is probably è 惡 (ant. shàn 善 "good"), but it must be noted that in early texts the word is more current in the meaning of physical ugliness.
        • Contrast: (ACCUSE)罰/PUNISH Fá 罰 refers to non-physical forms of punishment including typically fines. See FINE
        • Assoc: (CRIME)過/MISTAKE
        • Assoc: (ACCUSE)罰/PUNISH Fá 罰 refers to non-physical forms of punishment including typically fines. See FINE
        • Assoc: (CRIME)過/CRIME The current general word for a serious legal transgression is zuì 罪 (ant. gōng 功 "merit"), and the current general word for a minor legal transgression is guò 過 (ant. xiào 效 "positive contribution").
        • Synon: (BLAME)愆/BLAME
        • Oppos: (ACCUSE)賞/REWARD The current general word for rewarding is shǎng 賞 (ant. fá 罰 "punish" and zhū 誅 "punish").