斩监候 zhǎnjiānhòu delayed death penalty Origin Definitions Defs Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 斩 斬 zhǎn to behead to behead; to execute by decapitation, especially as a form of capital punishment in historical contexts监 監 jiān to imprison to take into custody or keep someone behind bars候 hòu verbnoun to wait to wait for; to await; to anticipate