罪有应得
zuì yǒu yīng dé
to get what one deserves; to deserve one’s punishment
Character by character
罪zuì
crime
crime
有yǒu
has
has
应yīng
due
due
得dé
get
get
Example
他骗光了那么多老人的养老钱，被判了十年，真是罪有应得。
He swindled all those old people out of their savings and got ten years. He had it coming.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
Usually the predicate of a whole sentence about someone punished: 他是罪有应得 or …，罪有应得. It is for real punishment of real wrongdoing; for a mishap someone brought on himself, people say 自作自受 or 活该 instead. 应 is yīng here.
Learn this in Lesson 193 · HSK 7–9: 一桩刑事案 (How a criminal case moves)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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