罪

The glyph operates across three primary axes: the legal/formal (a breach of law or state code), the moral/ethical (a vice, sin, or fundamental moral failing), and the consequential (the resultant penalty or hardship endured as a result of an offense).

Commonly used as a noun to denote crime, sin, or punishment. It can function as a verb meaning to blame, accuse, or hold responsible (e.g., 罪之), and is used statively to describe a state of being guilty or under penalty.

Often contrasted with 過 (guò), where 罪 typically represents a serious transgression and 過 represents a minor error or lapse in judgment. It is distinguished from 罰 (fá) in that while 罪 can encompass the hardship of punishment, 罰 refers specifically to the active administration of the penalty.

Usage shifts from early Legalistic texts, which emphasize objective legal offenses, toward later Buddhist-influenced texts, which emphasize karmic sin and spiritual pollution. Variant: U+8FA0.

In contexts of personal suffering, the translator should determine if the hardship is presented as a deserved penalty for a specific offense or as general misfortune/fate.