违反 meaning in English

wéifǎn

to violate (a law)

HSK 5verbTraditional 違反11 strokes

Meaning of 违反

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

wéifǎn
  1. to violate (a law)

How to use 违反

违反 is a fairly formal verb used with rules, laws, contracts and principles, such as 违反规定 (wéifǎn guīdìng, to break a regulation) or 违反法律 (wéifǎn fǎlǜ, to break the law). Example: 他违反了交通规则。(Tā wéifǎn le jiāotōng guīzé.) He broke the traffic rules.

违 (wéi) means to go against or disobey, and 反 (fǎn) means reverse or opposite, as in 相反 (xiāngfǎn). When you go against a rule and do the reverse of what it says, you 违反 (wéifǎn) it.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 违反 with 反对 (fǎnduì). 反对 means to oppose an idea or person, while 违反 means to break a rule. Also, 违 is second tone (wéi), not third tone like 伟 (wěi), and it should not be mixed up with 伟 in writing.

违反 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

如rú果guǒ你nǐ违wéi反fǎn了le法fǎ律lǜ, 你nǐ将jiāng受shòu到dào惩chéng罚fá。
You'll be punished if you break the law.
汤tāng姆mǔ不bù知zhī道dào他tā的de所suǒ作zuò所suǒ为wéi违wéi反fǎn了le规guī则zé。
Tom didn't know what he'd done was against the rules.
这zhè违wéi反fǎn规guī则zé。
That's against the rules.
汤tāng姆mǔ一yí向xiàng违wéi反fǎn知zhī识shí产chǎn权quán。
Tom always violates copyright laws.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

违 wéi · to violate · 7 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7

反 fǎn · contrary · 4 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4

Related words

Words that share a character with 违反.

反正fǎnzhènganyway; in any case
反对fǎnduìto oppose; to be against; to object to
反应fǎnyìngto react; to respond
反复fǎnfùrepeatedly; over and over
相反xiāngfǎnopposite; contrary
反而fǎn'éron the contrary; instead
反映fǎnyìngto mirror; to reflect
违法wéifǎillegal; to break the law
违规wéiguīto violate the rules
反抗fǎnkàngto resist; to rebel
反响fǎnxiǎngrepercussions; reaction
反问fǎnwènto ask (a question) in reply; to answer a question with a question

Questions about 违反

What does 违反 mean?

违反 (wéifǎn) means "to violate (a law)" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 违反?

违反 is made of 2 characters: 违 (7 strokes), 反 (4 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.

Is 违反 an HSK word?

Yes. 违反 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 违反 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 违反 is written 違反.

What is the difference between 违反 and 违法?

违法 (wéifǎ) is itself a verb-object phrase meaning to break the law, so it does not take an object. 违反 needs an object, as in 违反法律. You can say 这是违法的 but not 这是违反的.

Can 违反 be used with promises or people?

It is usually used with rules, laws, agreements and principles, not with people. For breaking a promise, 违背诺言 (wéibèi nuòyán) is more natural, though 违反合同 (to breach a contract) is common.