Main Translations

• English: Criminal
• Thai: อาชญากร (Primary Translation 1)
• Phonetic: Aachan yaa groh
• Detailed Explanation: The term "อาชญากร" is commonly used in formal and legal contexts in Thai to refer to an individual who has committed a serious crime, such as theft, murder, or fraud. It carries a strong negative connotation, emphasizing moral and legal wrongdoing. In usage scenarios, it appears in news reports, court proceedings, and discussions about law enforcement. Emotionally, it evokes feelings of disdain or fear, and semantically, it highlights the societal impact of the crime rather than the person’s background.
• Thai: ผู้กระทำความผิด (Secondary Translation 2)
• Phonetic: Phu kra tham khwam phit
• Detailed Explanation: This is a more general and less severe term, often used in everyday conversations or informal settings to describe someone who has broken the law, such as a minor offender. It focuses on the act of wrongdoing rather than the person’s identity. Emotionally, it may imply disappointment or correction rather than outright condemnation. Semantically, it allows for nuances like intent or context, making it versatile in scenarios involving rehabilitation or education.

Overview of Usage Scenarios

The word "criminal" is primarily used in legal, journalistic, and everyday contexts to describe individuals involved in illegal activities. In English, it functions as both a noun (referring to a person) and an adjective (describing actions or behaviors). Common scenarios include formal settings like courtrooms, business discussions involving white-collar crime, leisure conversations about media or true crime stories, and informal chats about societal issues. In Thai, translations like "อาชญากร" are more prevalent in official or media contexts, while "ผู้กระทำความผิด" suits casual or educational uses. Overall, the word often carries a negative tone, highlighting ethical and legal breaches, and is SEO-relevant for searches on crime-related vocabulary.

Example Sentences

Example Sentences in Different Scenarios

Business Scenario

• English: The company fired the employee after discovering his involvement in criminal activities.
• Thai: บริษัทไล่ออกพนักงานคนนั้นหลังจากค้นพบความเกี่ยวข้องกับกิจกรรมอาชญากรรม
• Grammatical Breakdown: "The company" (subject, noun phrase) + "fired" (verb, past tense) + "the employee" (object, noun) + "after discovering" (subordinate clause with gerund) + "his involvement in criminal activities" (prepositional phrase modifying the clause).
• Structural Analysis: This is a complex sentence with a main clause and a subordinate clause, emphasizing cause and effect. In a business context, it highlights professional consequences, using "criminal" as an adjective to describe activities.

Leisure Scenario

• English: We watched a movie about a notorious criminal who evaded the police for years.
• Thai: เราดูหนังเกี่ยวกับอาชญากรที่มีชื่อเสียงซึ่งหลบหนีตำรวจมานานหลายปี
• Grammatical Breakdown: "We watched" (subject + verb, past tense) + "a movie" (object, noun) + "about" (preposition) + "a notorious criminal" (noun phrase with adjective) + "who evaded" (relative clause).
• Structural Analysis: This sentence uses a relative clause for additional detail, making it engaging for storytelling. "Criminal" serves as a noun, common in leisure contexts like entertainment, to add dramatic flair.

Formal Occasion

• English: The judge declared the defendant a criminal based on overwhelming evidence.
• Thai: ผู้พิพากษาประกาศว่าจำเลยเป็นผู้กระทำความผิดจากหลักฐานที่ชัดเจน
• Grammatical Breakdown: "The judge" (subject, noun) + "declared" (verb, past tense) + "the defendant" (object, noun) + "a criminal" (predicate nominative) + "based on" (prepositional phrase).
• Structural Analysis: A declarative sentence with a formal tone, where "criminal" acts as a predicate nominative. This structure is typical in legal settings, reinforcing authority and objectivity.

Informal Occasion

• English: Don't trust him; he's a real criminal who always bends the rules.
• Thai: อย่าไว้ใจเขาเลย เขาเป็นอาชญากรตัวจริงที่ชอบแหกกฎเสมอ
• Grammatical Breakdown: "Don't trust" (imperative verb phrase) + "him" (object pronoun) + ";" (pause) + "he's" (contraction of "he is") + "a real criminal" (subject complement) + "who always bends" (relative clause).
• Structural Analysis: This compound sentence mixes imperative and declarative elements for emphasis in casual conversations. "Criminal" as a noun adds a pejorative tone, common in informal warnings.

Example Sentences in Different Sentence Types

Declarative Sentence

• English: The criminal escaped from prison last night.
• Thai: อาชญากรหลบหนีจากเรือนจำเมื่อคืนนี้
• Grammatical Breakdown: "The criminal" (subject, noun) + "escaped" (verb, past tense) + "from prison" (prepositional phrase) + "last night" (adverbial phrase).
• Structural Analysis: A simple declarative sentence stating a fact, with "criminal" as the subject, ideal for straightforward reporting.

Interrogative Sentence

• English: Is the suspect really a criminal?
• Thai: ผู้ต้องสงสัยเป็นผู้กระทำความผิดจริงหรือ?
• Grammatical Breakdown: "Is" (auxiliary verb) + "the suspect" (subject) + "really a criminal" (predicate) + "?" (question mark).
• Structural Analysis: This yes/no interrogative sentence inverts the subject and auxiliary verb, using "criminal" to question identity, common in investigations.

Imperative Sentence

• English: Report the criminal to the authorities immediately!
• Thai: รีบแจ้งเจ้าหน้าที่เกี่ยวกับอาชญากรทันที!
• Grammatical Breakdown: "Report" (imperative verb) + "the criminal" (direct object) + "to the authorities" (prepositional phrase) + "immediately" (adverb) + "!" (exclamation).
• Structural Analysis: An imperative sentence giving a command, with "criminal" as the object, urging action in urgent scenarios.

Exclamatory Sentence

• English: What a dangerous criminal he turned out to be!
• Thai: เขาเป็นอาชญากรที่อันตรายมากเลย!
• Grammatical Breakdown: "What a" (exclamation starter) + "dangerous criminal" (noun phrase) + "he turned out to be" (clause) + "!" (exclamation mark).
• Structural Analysis: This exclamatory sentence expresses surprise, with "criminal" modified by an adjective for emphasis, enhancing emotional impact.

Example Sentences of Different Difficulties

Simple Sentence

• English: The criminal ran away.
• Thai: อาชญากรวิ่งหนีไป
• Grammatical Breakdown: "The criminal" (subject) + "ran away" (verb phrase).
• Structural Analysis: A basic subject-verb structure, easy for beginners, with "criminal" as the subject.

Intermediate Sentence

• English: After committing the crime, the criminal hid in the city.
• Thai: หลังจากก่ออาชญากรรม ผู้กระทำความผิดก็ซ่อนตัวในเมือง
• Grammatical Breakdown: "After committing" (subordinate clause) + "the crime" (object) + "," + "the criminal" (subject) + "hid" (verb) + "in the city" (prepositional phrase).
• Structural Analysis: A compound sentence with a time clause, building complexity while using "criminal" narratively.

Complex Sentence

• English: Although the police had evidence, the clever criminal managed to escape and evade capture for months.
• Thai: แม้ว่าตำรวจจะมีหลักฐาน แต่อาชญากรที่ฉลาดก็สามารถหลบหนีและหลีกเลี่ยงการจับกุมได้นานหลายเดือน
• Grammatical Breakdown: "Although the police had evidence" (subordinate clause) + "," + "the clever criminal" (subject) + "managed to escape" (main clause) + "and evade capture" (coordinated phrase) + "for months" (adverbial phrase).
• Structural Analysis: A complex sentence with conjunctions and multiple clauses, showcasing "criminal" in a descriptive role for advanced contexts.

Related Phrases and Expressions

Synonyms/Near Synonyms:

• Felon – Used in legal contexts to describe someone convicted of a serious crime, often interchangeable with "criminal" in formal writing.
• Offender – A broader term for anyone who breaks the law, with less emphasis on severity than "criminal."

Antonyms:

• Law-abider – Refers to someone who follows the rules, contrasting "criminal" by highlighting compliance and morality.
• Innocent – Denotes a person free from guilt, often used in legal defenses to oppose accusations of being a "criminal."

Common Collocations:

• Criminal activity – Refers to illegal actions, commonly used in reports to describe organized crime.
• Criminal record – Indicates a history of convictions, frequently in job applications or background checks.

Cultural Background and Usage Habits

Cultural Background:

• Cultural Point 1: In Thai culture, the concept of a "criminal" is often viewed through the lens of Buddhist principles, which emphasize karma and rehabilitation rather than permanent labeling. For instance, terms like "อาชญากร" may be used in media to discuss crime, but there's a cultural habit of focusing on redemption, as seen in Thai films and news stories that portray criminals as products of societal issues.

Usage Habits:

• Habit 1: The word and its translations are frequently used in news media and legal discussions among adults, but less so in casual family conversations due to its negative connotations. In Thailand, it's more popular in urban areas with higher crime rates, making it a common SEO keyword for educational and law-related content.

Grammar Explanation

Grammatical Function:

"Criminal" primarily functions as a noun (e.g., as a subject or object in sentences like "The criminal fled") or an adjective (e.g., modifying nouns in "criminal behavior"). As a noun, it can be the subject of a sentence or part of a phrase; as an adjective, it describes qualities related to crime.

Tense and Voice:

As a noun, "criminal" does not change with tense, but it appears in various verb tenses depending on the sentence (e.g., "The criminal will escape" in future tense). In voice, it can be passive (e.g., "The criminal was caught") or active (e.g., "The criminal stole the jewels"). In Thai translations, verb conjugations adjust for tense, such as using past markers like "แล้ว" for completed actions.

References

Etymology and History:

The English word "criminal" originates from the Latin "criminālis," derived from "crimen," meaning "charge" or "accusation." It evolved through Old French as "criminel" in the 15th century, entering English to denote someone guilty of a crime. Historically, its usage expanded during the Enlightenment era with the rise of modern legal systems, influencing terms in languages like Thai, where "อาชญากร" was adopted from Western legal concepts in the 19th century.

Literary References:

• From William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" (Act 1, Scene 3): "What! can the devil speak true?" – Here, characters reference criminal deeds, symbolizing moral corruption. Source: Shakespeare, W. (1623). Macbeth.
• From F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" (Chapter 9): "They were careless people... they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money." – This indirectly alludes to criminal behavior in high society. Source: Fitzgerald, F. S. (1925). The Great Gatsby.