penalty, punishment
罰 centers on a negative consequence for wrongdoing: a penalty or punishment imposed to correct or deter.
罰 combines 罒 (net) with 䚯 (a component related to words and a knife), suggesting a net of words and cutting used to impose punishment. The exact historical development is uncertain, but the idea of a penalty enforced through authority is clear.
The top 罒 is a net, and the bottom 䚯 looks like words (言) and a knife (刂). Imagine a net of sharp words and a knife ready to deliver a penalty.
For バツ, imagine a judge banging a gavel and shouting 'Batsu!' as they hand down a punishment. The sharp sound 'batsu' cues バツ.
(divine) punishment; curse; retribution
punishment; penalty
fine; penalty
punishment; penalty
to punish; to penalize; to penalise
punishment; penalty
(criminal) punishment; penalty; sentence
discipline; punishment; reprimand
corporal punishment
divine punishment; wrath of God; justice of heaven; nemesis
severe punishment; rigorous measures
damned; cursed; accursed
divine punishment
cross mark; demerit mark; an X
reward and punishment
heavy punishment
punishing a crime to make an example for others
punishment by Buddha; divine retribution
proxy punishment (system of punishment under the laws of a country to which a perpetrator has fled)
rewards and punishments; rewarding good conduct and punishing evildoing