TongTong
Sign in

供词 (gòng cí) — confession (under interrogation); statement (made under examination)

Definition

A formal legal term for a suspect's written or recorded statement during police interrogation or trial. Distinct from 证词, which is a witness's testimony, not the suspect's own words.

noun
confession (under interrogation)statement (made under examination)

Examples

  • 供词。
    Xián yí rén zài shěn xùn zhōng qiān shǔ le gòng cí.
    The suspect signed the confession during the interrogation.
  • 供词。
    Lǜ shī zhì yí zhè fèn gòng cí de zhēn shí xìng.
    The lawyer questioned the authenticity of this statement.
  • 供词。
    Fǎ tíng yǐ gòng cí wèi zhǔ yào zhèng jù zuò chū pàn jué.
    The court made a ruling based primarily on the confession.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

供gòngconfession
词cíwords

“供” points to a confession or statement and “词” means words, together giving a formal statement.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
共
共gòng供gòng
Same sound today

供 is made of 亻, a person, and 共, which gives the sound gòng.

Open 供 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 詞; 词 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
司
司sī詞cí(r)
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 詞 uses 言, meaning speech, and 司 to show how it was pronounced; the simplified 词 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 词 →
Appears in
Crime & PoliceLaw & Justice

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.