処刑

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 処刑 is read as しょけい and is a noun and する verb for carrying out a sentence of death as an execution.
• Basic usage: Ordering it appears in 反逆者の処刑を命じる, while awaiting it appears in 処刑を待つ.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Carrying out a punishment
  • It does not mean any killing in general; it is used when a death sentence is carried out under an authority or system.
• Difference from 刑罰
  • 刑罰 broadly covers legal punishments including fines and imprisonment, while 処刑 means carrying out a punishment that takes a person's life.