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verb HSK 5
dìng zuì
to convict · to find guilty · to determine guilt

Meaning

定罪 means to officially determine that someone is guilty of a crime, typically used in legal contexts. It refers to the formal judicial act of convicting someone after trial or investigation. The word combines 定 (to determine/fix) and 罪 (crime/guilt).

Usage

This is formal, legal terminology used primarily in court proceedings, legal documents, and news reports about criminal cases. It's not casual conversation vocabulary. The subject is typically a court, judge, or legal authority. Often appears in passive constructions like 被定罪 (to be convicted).

Examples

  1. 01
    法院最终对这名被告定罪，判处五年有期徒刑。
    Fǎ yuàn zuì zhōng duì zhè míng bèi gào dìng zuì, pàn chǔ wǔ nián yǒu qī tú xíng.
    The court ultimately convicted the defendant and sentenced him to five years in prison.
  2. 02
    检方提供的证据不足以定罪。
    Jiǎn fāng tí gōng de zhèng jù bù zú yǐ dìng zuì.
    The evidence provided by the prosecution is insufficient to convict.

Characters

Common collocations

  • 被定罪
    bèi dìng zuì
    to be convicted
  • 定罪量刑
    dìng zuì liàng xíng
    to convict and sentence
  • 法院定罪
    fǎ yuàn dìng zuì
    the court convicts

Antonyms

Origin

Compound of 定 (to determine/establish) + 罪 (crime/guilt). The term directly reflects the legal process of establishing criminal guilt.

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