punishment, penalty
On'yomi (音読み)
- ケイ
- ギョウ
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
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About this kanji
The kanji 刑 (けい) primarily means "punishment" or "penalty." It is typically used in noun form rather than as a verb. You will often see it in various compounds, such as 刑事 (けいじ), which means "criminal" and refers to police detectives, and 刑法 (けいほう), meaning "penal code," which is a set of laws related to punishments for crimes. Another common term is 死刑 (しけい), translating to "death penalty." A lighter term, 軽刑 (けいけい), refers to a "light sentence." Note that while 刑 strictly relates to legal punishment, its use can evoke serious themes, so it's often encountered in discussions about law and justice.
Built from
Example sentences
刑罰は厳しいです。
The punishment is severe.
Meanings across languages
- English
- punishment, penalty
- Tiếng Việt
- hình phạt, án
- 日本語
- 刑, 処罰, 罰
- 한국어
- 처벌
- 中文
- 惩罚
- id
- hukuman
- th
- การลงโทษ
- es
- castigo
- fr
- punition
- de
- Strafe
- pt
- punição
Common compounds
- 刑事けいじcriminal, detective
- 刑法けいほうpenal code, criminal law
- 死刑しけいdeath penalty, capital punishment
- 軽刑けいけいlight sentence
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