犯 fàn — to violate; to offend
学习时难免会犯一些小错误。Xué xí shí nán miǎn huì fàn yì xiē xiǎo cuò wù.When learning, it is inevitable to make some small mistakes.
Common words: 罪犯 (zuì fàn)、犯罪 (fàn zuì)、侵犯 (qīn fàn)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to violate"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to violate", including 犯 (fàn), 违 (wéi). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to violate" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 犯 (fàn), 违 (wéi) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span fàn, wéi — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 犯 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 犯 fànto violate; to offendUseful words: 罪犯, 犯罪
- 违 wéito disobey; to violate; to separate; to go againstUseful words: 违法, 违反
Common words for these 2 "to violate" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 犯 (fàn) — so "to violate" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "to violate".
违 wéi — to disobey; to violate; to separate; to go against
闯红灯是违反交通规则的。Chuǎng hóng dēng shì wéi fǎn jiāo tōng guī zé de.Running a red light violates traffic rules.
Common words: 违法 (wéi fǎ)、违反 (wéi fǎn)、违规 (wéi guī)
All 2 characters
Open 犯、违 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.