About
The character for illicit goods or bribes, "赃", is etymologically constructed from the semantic component "贝", which historically represented shells used as currency and thus denotes wealth or valuables, combined with the phonetic and semantic component "庄", which in this context suggests a base or repository. Its traditional form, "贓", employs the more complex component "藏", meaning to hide or conceal, making the conceptual link to secretly stored ill-gotten gains even more explicit. Over time, the character's meaning has remained specifically focused on wealth obtained through corrupt or criminal means, such as theft or graft, without significant broadening or dilution, maintaining a direct connection between its compositional logic and its legal and moral implication.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
警方发现了赃物。
小偷藏起了赃物。
赃款必须全部退回。
他因贪赃被判刑了。
检察官正在调查赃物的来源。
追缴赃物是案件侦破的关键。
这些赃物非常贵重，必须妥善保管。
通过赃款流向的分析，警方锁定了犯罪嫌疑人。