Bigamy and cohabitation with others are two different behaviors that violate the Marriage Law, and there are essential differences between them.
 Bigamy is a criminal act in violation of the Criminal Law. It refers to the act of a person with a spouse marrying another person or the perpetrator who knowingly marries another person with a spouse. Whoever commits the crime of bigamy shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention according to the provisions of Article 258 of the Criminal Law.
 The cohabitation of a married person with another person refers to the continuous and stable cohabitation of a married person with the opposite sex outside the marriage, not in the name of the husband and wife. There are three elements of cohabitation of a married person with another person:
 1. Having spouse;
 2. Not in the name of husband and wife;
 3. Continuous and stable living together. Conforming to these three elements constitutes the cohabitation of a spouse with others. This behavior seriously violates the provisions of the Marriage Law, and the innocent party of the legal couple should stop it according to law, but this behavior does not violate the provisions of the Criminal Law.