<p>Some of them have a logic, but often you'll need some classical exposure to feel it. Querying a dictionary like MDBG with "罪*", "<em>罪", "犯</em>" and "*犯" will help you feel the pattern.</p>

<h2>罪犯 / 犯罪</h2>

<p>罪 : N (a crime)
犯 : V (to commit / offend)</p>

<p>V+N gives V (like in 吃饭、喝水、生气、……犯罪), therefore 犯罪 is literally "to commit a crime".</p>

<p>You can find several words in which 犯 as the second character means the person committing a crime:</p>

<ul>
<li>共犯 : the accomplice</li>
<li>囚犯 : a prisoner</li>
<li>嫌犯 : a suspect+
(and tons of others, war criminals, juvenile criminals etc)
Knowing these few examples helped me remember that 罪犯 shares the same pattern.</li>
</ul>

<h2>实现 / 现实</h2>

<p>For this one, I like to remember useful pairs, like 梦想与现实, dream and reality.
Ultimately, I prefer to think of it as a case of V+N vs N+V where 实现 means "to cause to be now" and 现实 means "the current fruit/result":
现 is never a verb in <code>现X</code> compounds, it's always an adjective (or noun with an adjectival role) having a meaning around the concept of "now" (modern, current etc).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-14T23:01:03.573Z
2016-03-14T23:01:03.573Z
vermillon
<p>There're no underlying logic on those pairs you've mention.  It's just a coincidence that the 2 words can be used in form of AB/BA where both AB and BA <em>is</em> a word.  Note that in the examples, AB and BA have different meaning while there are some example that has the same meaning, such as:  </p>

<p>油漆 / 漆油 (paint)<br>
色彩 / 彩色 (arguable as 色彩=color while 彩色=color(ful))  </p>

<p>I believe there are similar situation in English such as breakout / outbreak or overlay / layover.  It'll be easier for you to just forget the AB/BA format and remember them as separate words.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-11T20:53:35.013Z
2016-03-11T20:53:35.013Z
Alex
<p>Crime(犯罪) is a behavior。 the criminal（罪犯） is a group of people. Only when people commit crimes(犯罪) can they become criminals（罪犯）!</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-15T04:29:34.187Z
2016-03-15T04:29:34.187Z
tgzmos
<ul>
<li>我实现了我的梦想，I achieved my dream</li>
<li>现实 reality</li>
<li>You can say 我实现了我的梦想，我的梦想变成了现实。I realized my dream,my dream has become realized.</li>
<li>A man who 犯罪,thence become a 罪犯</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-11T19:38:41.923Z
2016-03-11T19:51:07.687Z
2016-03-11T19:51:07.687Z
user12931
<p>I need help with 实现 v.s. 现实 and 罪犯 v.s. 犯罪.</p>

<p>I find it hard to remember the distinction between these pairs which are of the form AB / BA. Can anyone help me grasp the underlying ideas/logic/feeling?</p>

<p>Also, I'd be interested in other similar pairs. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-11T20:56:41.363Z
互相／相互 Probably usage differences, only.
imrek
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-14T01:37:57.903Z
I have the same problem remembering which is the adjective and which is the verb between 适合 and 合适 :/
Ming
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-27T04:31:33.557Z
Related: [What examples highlight the distinction between 产生 and 生产, both meaning “to produce”?](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/36276/what-examples-highlight-the-distinction-between-%e4%ba%a7%e7%94%9f-and-%e7%94%9f%e4%ba%a7-both-meaning-to-prod)
Becky 李蓓
<vocabulary><difference><word>
Pairs which are of the form AB / BA
# Pairs which are of the form AB / BA

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-03-11)

I need help with 实现 v.s. 现实 and 罪犯 v.s. 犯罪.

I find it hard to remember the distinction between these pairs which are of the form AB / BA. Can anyone help me grasp the underlying ideas/logic/feeling?

Also, I'd be interested in other similar pairs.

**Tags:** vocabulary, difference, word

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 互相／相互 Probably usage differences, only.  
> **username_2**: I have the same problem remembering which is the adjective and which is the verb between 适合 and 合适 :/  
> **username_3**: Related: [What examples highlight the distinction between 产生 and 生产, both meaning “to produce”?](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/36276/what-examples-highlight-the-distinction-between-%e4%ba%a7%e7%94%9f-and-%e7%94%9f%e4%ba%a7-both-meaning-to-prod)  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2016-03-14. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Some of them have a logic, but often you'll need some classical exposure to feel it. Querying a dictionary like MDBG with "罪\*", "*罪", "犯*" and "\*犯" will help you feel the pattern.

## 罪犯 / 犯罪

罪 : N (a crime)
犯 : V (to commit / offend)

V+N gives V (like in 吃饭、喝水、生气、……犯罪), therefore 犯罪 is literally "to commit a crime".

You can find several words in which 犯 as the second character means the person committing a crime:

* 共犯 : the accomplice
* 囚犯 : a prisoner
* 嫌犯 : a suspect+
  (and tons of others, war criminals, juvenile criminals etc)
  Knowing these few examples helped me remember that 罪犯 shares the same pattern.

## 实现 / 现实

For this one, I like to remember useful pairs, like 梦想与现实, dream and reality.
Ultimately, I prefer to think of it as a case of V+N vs N+V where 实现 means "to cause to be now" and 现实 means "the current fruit/result":
现 is never a verb in `现X` compounds, it's always an adjective (or noun with an adjectival role) having a meaning around the concept of "now" (modern, current etc).


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### Answer by username_5 on 2016-03-11. Score: 3

There're no underlying logic on those pairs you've mention. It's just a coincidence that the 2 words can be used in form of AB/BA where both AB and BA *is* a word. Note that in the examples, AB and BA have different meaning while there are some example that has the same meaning, such as:

油漆 / 漆油 (paint)  
色彩 / 彩色 (arguable as 色彩=color while 彩色=color(ful))

I believe there are similar situation in English such as breakout / outbreak or overlay / layover. It'll be easier for you to just forget the AB/BA format and remember them as separate words.


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### Answer by username_6 on 2016-03-15. Score: -1

Crime(犯罪) is a behavior。 the criminal（罪犯） is a group of people. Only when people commit crimes(犯罪) can they become criminals（罪犯）!


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### Answer by username_7 on 2016-03-11. Score: -1

* 我实现了我的梦想，I achieved my dream
* 现实 reality
* You can say 我实现了我的梦想，我的梦想变成了现实。I realized my dream,my dream has become realized.
* A man who 犯罪,thence become a 罪犯


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