What is allowed and what is not, everyday offences, and what follows from them.
The language of rules runs on a few characters: 法, “law”, in 合法, 违法 and 非法; 规, “rule”, in 规定, 违规 and 规矩. A 规定 is laid down by somebody in authority, while 规矩 are the unwritten rules of good behaviour. This page explains words; it is not legal advice.
The words
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Verb (24)
违法to break the law; illegalVerb4
开车的时候打电话是违法的。Making phone calls while driving is against the law.
违规to break the rulesVerb4
比赛中他违规了两次。He broke the rules twice during the match.
不准not allowed; must notVerb4
考场里不准带手机。Phones are not allowed in the exam room.
不许must not; not allowed toVerb4
妈妈不许我晚上十点以后回家。Mum doesn’t let me come home after ten at night.
Spoken, often from a parent or teacher; 不准 sounds more official.
登记to register; to sign inVerb4
来大楼的客人要先在门口登记。Visitors to the building must first sign in at the entrance.
犯罪to commit a crime; crimeVerb4
小说里的这个人为了钱去犯罪。The man in the novel turns to crime for money.
犯to commit (an offence, a mistake)Verb4
谁都会犯错误。Everyone makes mistakes.
偷to stealVerb3
我的自行车昨天被人偷了。My bike was stolen yesterday.
骗to cheat; to deceive; to swindleVerb4
他说这块表是新的，其实是在骗我。He said the watch was new, but he was actually cheating me.
撒谎to lie; to tell a lieVerb4
孩子撒谎的时候常常不敢看人。When children lie, they often can’t look you in the eye.
打架to fight; to come to blowsVerb4
两个学生在操场上打架，被老师批评了。Two pupils got into a fight in the playground and were told off by the teacher.
Separable: 打了一架, had a fight.
报警to call the policeVerb4
发现家里的门开着，她马上报警了。Finding her front door open, she called the police at once.
报案to report a crime (to the police)Verb4
手机被偷以后，他去派出所报案了。After his phone was stolen, he went to the police station to report it.
报警 is calling for help; 报案 is formally reporting a crime.
抓to catch; to arrest; to grabVerb4
那个小偷第二天就被抓住了。The thief was caught the very next day.
判to sentence; to judgeVerb4
他因为偷车被判了一年。He was sentenced to a year for stealing a car.
Also simply “to judge, to decide”, as in 判断.
坐牢to be in prisonVerb4
犯了罪就可能要坐牢。If you commit a crime, you may end up in prison.
判断to judge; judgementVerb4
只看外表，很难判断一个人的性格。It is hard to judge someone’s character from their appearance alone.
警告to warn; warningVerb4
医生警告他不要再抽烟了。The doctor warned him not to smoke any more.
罚to punish; to fineVerb4
他开车太快，被罚了两百块。He was driving too fast and was fined two hundred yuan.
惩罚to punish; punishmentVerb4
老师没有惩罚他，只是跟他聊了一会儿。The teacher didn’t punish him; she just had a talk with him.
赔to compensate; to pay for (damage)Verb4
我不小心弄坏了朋友的相机，只好赔他一个新的。I accidentally broke my friend’s camera, so I had to buy him a new one.
认错to admit a mistakeVerb4
他知道自己错了，主动认错了。He knew he was in the wrong and owned up of his own accord.
Also “to mistake one person for another”: 认错人.
承担to bear; to take on (responsibility, costs)Verb4
这次的费用由公司承担。The company will bear the costs this time.
守法to abide by the law; law-abidingVerb4
他一直是一个守法的公民。He has always been a law-abiding citizen.