受害人

• Pinyin: shòu hài rén
• Hanzi breakdown: 受 = 爪 + 冖 + 又 (hands passing — to receive/bear); 害 = 宀 + 丰 + 口 (to harm/obstruct); 人 = pictograph of a standing person

Meaning

Victim; a person who has suffered harm, injury, or loss as the result of a crime, accident, or wrongful act.

The standard legal and formal term for a victim in Chinese judicial proceedings. Closely synonymous with 受害者 (victim — more general, also used outside legal contexts; 者 emphasises the role), but 受害人 (人 = person) is the preferred term in criminal law and official documentation. Distinct from 被告 (defendant) and 证人 (witness). In civil law, the counterpart is 受损方 (the damaged/injured party). Key collocations: 受害人陈述 (victim statement); 受害人权益 (victim rights); 受害人救助 (victim assistance).

Examples

1. 法律程序规定，受害人在庭审中有陈述、索赔和委托代理人的权利，不只是证据提供者。 Legal procedure states that victims have the right to speak, claim compensation, and appoint a representative at trial, not just to serve as evidence providers.
2. 这起连环诈骗案的受害人年龄跨度很大，从大学生到退休老人都有，迫使警方重估易感人群。 The victims in this serial fraud case ranged widely in age, from university students to retirees, forcing police to reassess which groups are most vulnerable.
3. 涉及未成年受害人的案件，司法机构要平衡隐私与知情权，还要防止媒体过度介入造成二次伤害。 In cases involving underage victims, the justice system must balance privacy and the public's right to know, while preventing excessive media involvement from causing secondary harm.

Usage Guide

Context: law, crime, justice, social welfare

Tone: serious

Do Say

• 现代刑事司法的进步，不只在于惩罚犯罪，也在于充分保障受害人权益和持续心理支持。(Progress in modern criminal justice lies not only in punishing crime, but also in fully protecting victims' rights and providing ongoing psychological support.)
• 集体诉讼中，受害人差异很大，损失类型和程度不同，公平分配赔偿因此很难。(In class actions, victims differ greatly, and because the types and levels of loss vary, fair compensation is very difficult to distribute.)

Don't Say

• 受害人 interchangeably with 被害人 in all contexts — 被害人 is specifically used in criminal law to denote the direct victim of a crime (i.e., the person against whom the criminal act was directed), while 受害人 is broader and includes victims of accidents, negligence, and other non-criminal harm; in formal legal documents, distinguish between the two carefully

Origin & History

受 (to receive; to suffer) + 害 (harm) + 人 (person) — compound noun: a person who has received/suffered harm

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal