有罪
yǒuzuì
The English word "guilty" is translated into Chinese as 有罪 (yǒuzuì).
有罪 is an adjective used to describe someone who has been judged to have committed a crime. You may use the specific expression 我有罪 (wǒ yǒu zuì) to mean "I am guilty" when confessing guilt or admitting to a crime. For expressing a feeling of guilt or shame regarding one's actions, you might use 惭愧 (ashamed or embarrassed) or if you want to express deep regret or remorse regarding a moral or personal wrongdoing, you would use 歉疚.
Meaning: judged to have committed a crime (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 有罪 literally means "to have crime/sin", composed of 有 (to have) and 罪 (crime or sin).
Which one should you use?
The antonym of 有罪 is 无罪, which means "innocent" and literally means "to have no crime".
How does it change in a sentence?
When used as an attributive adjective before a noun, such as "a guilty person", the particle 的 is often added to form 有罪的人. For informal situations where you want to express guilt or admit fault, you can use the phrase 我错了 (wǒ cuò le), which means "I was wrong".
How do you pronounce it?
yǒuzuì
Did you know?
- The character 罪 for 'crime' or 'sin' contains a radical that originally referred to a 'knife' or 'cutting'. This suggests an ancient connection between the concept of guilt and the physical punishments or executions used to address it.
- The concept of 'guilt' in Chinese culture is often tied more to 'social shame' or 'loss of face' than the Western internal psychological state of 'feeling guilty'.
- In ancient Chinese legal texts, the concept of 罪 was not just about breaking a law but also about failing in one's filial duties to parents. To be 'guilty' could mean simply neglecting a family ritual.
Examples in context
- 其實，有罪的人是你。Actually, you're the guilty one.This sentence is useful for identifying a person as the guilty one.Tatoeba #13865934 by LeviHighway, translation #13827287 by frpzzd
- 我没有罪。I'm not guilty.This sentence is useful for stating that you are not guilty.Tatoeba #1772685 by sadhen, translation #1563108 by CK
- 他承认有罪。He confessed that he was guilty.This sentence is useful for describing a confession of being guilty.Tatoeba #363879 by fucongcong, translation #298536 by CK
- 妈妈，我感到非常歉疚。Mom, I feel really guilty.
- 对不起，我确实有罪。I'm sorry, I'm guilty.
- 我错了。以后我会改正的。I was wrong. I'll make amends in the future.
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Wei and Jiayi are discussing a recent news report about a legal case.
- 伟 Wei你听新闻了吗？那个嫌疑人被判定有罪了。Nǐ tīng xīnwén le ma? Nàge xiányìrén bèi pàndìng yǒu zuì le.Did you hear the news? That suspect was found guilty.
- 佳怡 Jiayi真的吗？伟，那证据很充分吗？Zhēn de ma? Wěi, nà zhèngjù hěn chōngfèn ma?Really? Wei, was the evidence sufficient?
- 伟 Wei是的，所有的证据都指向他有罪。Shì de, suǒyǒu de zhèngjù dōu zhǐxiàng tā yǒu zuì.Yes, all the evidence points to him being guilty.
- 佳怡 Jiayi那真是太令人震惊了。Nà zhēn shì tài lìng rén zhènjīng le.That is truly shocking.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “guilty” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
