In China, the word hanjian is a pejorative term for those seen as traitors to the Chinese state and, to a lesser extent, Han Chinese ethnicity. The word hanjian is distinct from the general word for traitor, which could be used for any country or ethnicity. As a Chinese term, it is composed of the Chinese characters for "Han" and "traitor". In Chinese legal language, it could also refer to illicit sexual relations; implied by this term was a Han Chinese carrying on an illicit relationship with the enemy. Hanjian is often worded as "collaborator" or "collaborationist" in the West.