不法分子

bùfǎ fènzǐ
noun #40,528

Meanings

  1. 1 lawbreakers
  2. 2 criminal elements

Examples

HSK 5
Jǐngchá zhuāzhù le jǐ ge bùfǎ fènzǐ.
The police caught several lawbreakers.
HSK 7-9
Yǒuxiē bùfǎ fènzǐ màochōng yínháng gōngzuò rényuán, piànqǔ lǎorén de cúnkuǎn.
Some criminals pose as bank staff to cheat elderly people out of their savings.

Tips

usage
分子 here is fènzǐ, "member of a group", not fēnzǐ "molecule". The same pattern gives 知识分子 "intellectual" and 积极分子 "activist". 不法分子 is news and police language; in conversation people say 坏人 or 骗子.

Stroke Order

不 bù
法 fǎ
分 fēn
子 zǐ