‘刑事’ (xíng shì) is a noun meaning ‘criminal’—specifically relating to criminal law, cases, or activities. It combines two characters: 刑 (xíng), meaning ‘punishment’ or ‘penal’, and 事 (shì), meaning ‘matter’ or ‘case’. Together, they literally mean ‘punishment matter’, referring to matters governed by criminal law—such as investigations, prosecutions, or trials involving violations of criminal statutes.

This term appears almost exclusively in formal, legal contexts: ‘刑事案’ (criminal case), ‘刑事责任’ (criminal liability), or ‘刑事律师’ (criminal defense attorney). It’s never used alone to describe a person (e.g., you wouldn’t call someone ‘a 刑事’); instead, it modifies nouns to specify the legal domain. It contrasts with ‘民事’ (mín shì, civil) and ‘行政’ (xíng zhèng, administrative), forming the three main branches of Chinese law.