Usage note
违法意思是做了法律不允许的事情。
Wéifǎ yìsi shì zuò le fǎlǜ bù yǔnxǔ de shìqíng.
Illegal means doing something that the law does not allow.
Context note
偷东西是违法的行为。
Tōu dōngxi shì wéifǎ de xíngwéi.
Stealing is an illegal act.
5 examples
闯红灯是违法的。
chuǎng hóng dēng shì wéi fǎ de。
Running a red light is illegal.
不能做违法的事。
bù néng zuò wéi fǎ de shì。
You cannot do illegal things.
违法的人会被警察抓。
wéi fǎ de rén huì bèi jǐng chá zhuā。
Illegal people will be caught by the police.
我们要遵守法律，不违法。
wǒ men yào zūn shǒu fǎ lǜ， bù wéi fǎ。
We must obey the law and not be illegal.
学校教我们不要违法。
xué xiào jiào wǒ men bú yào wéi fǎ。
School teaches us not to be illegal.
5 mini stories
小明知道偷东西是违法的。他从不偷东西。
xiǎo míng zhī dào tōu dōng xī shì wéi fǎ de。 tā cóng bù tōu dōng xī。
Xiao Ming knows that stealing is illegal. He never steals.
小红过马路看红绿灯，不闯红灯。她不做违法的事。
xiǎo hóng guò mǎ lù kàn hóng lǜ dēng， bù chuǎng hóng dēng。 tā bú zuò wéi fǎ de shì。
Xiao Hong looks at the traffic lights when crossing the road, and does not run red lights. She does not do illegal things.
警察叔叔抓违法的人。大家都很安全。
jǐng chá shū shu zhuā wéi fǎ de rén。 dà jiā dōu hěn ān quán。
Uncle police catches illegal people. Everyone is very safe.
老师告诉我们要守法，违法不好。我们记住了。
lǎo shī gào sù wǒ men yào shǒu fǎ， wéi fǎ bù hǎo。 wǒ men jì zhù le。
The teacher tells us to obey the law, being illegal is not good. We remember.
小华看到有人违法，他告诉大人。大家表扬他。
xiǎo huá kàn dào yǒu rén wéi fǎ， tā gào sù dà rén。 dà jiā biǎo yáng tā。
Xiao Hua sees someone being illegal, he tells an adult. Everyone praises him.
Mini dialogue
遵守规则
A
我们不能做违法的事情。
Wǒmen bù néng zuò wéifǎ de shìqing.
We cannot do illegal things.
B
对，违法会伤害别人。
Duì, wéifǎ huì shānghài biérén.
Right, illegal acts can hurt others.
过马路
A
闯红灯是违法的吗？
Chuǎng hóngdēng shì wéifǎ de ma?
Is running a red light illegal?
B
是的，这是违法的行为。
Shì de, zhè shì wéifǎ de xíngwéi.
Yes, it's an illegal act.
Related words and contrasts
similar
非法
fēifǎ
illegal
非法 is a direct synonym, often used in legal contexts.
opposite
合法
héfǎ
legal
合法 means legal, the direct opposite of 违法.
related
犯罪
fànzuì
commit a crime
犯罪 refers to committing a crime, which is a type of illegal act.
contrast
遵守
zūnshǒu
obey, follow
遵守 means to obey rules or laws, contrasting with 违法.