TongTong
Sign in

保释 (bǎo shì) — to bail (someone) out; to release on bail

Definition

保释 (bǎoshì) means to release someone from custody on bail — a legal term for the act of freeing a suspect who posts bail money. Compare 释放, which is the broader 'release' (from prison or detention) without the bail-payment sense.

verb
to bail (someone) outto release on bail

Examples

  • 保释。
    Lǜ shī zhèng zài xiǎng bàn fǎ bǎo shì tā.
    The lawyer is trying to bail him out.
  • 。
    Tā jiāo le wǔ wàn kuài qián de bǎo shì jīn.
    He paid fifty thousand yuan in bail.
  • 保释。
    Zhè ge xián yí rén yǐ jīng bèi bǎo shì le.
    The suspect has already been released on bail.

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.

保bǎoguarantee
释shìrelease

保 gives a guarantee, and 释 gives release, so it names releasing someone under a guarantee.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

保 originally showed a person 人 carrying a child 子 on their back, which led to the sense of protecting.

Open 保 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 釋; 释 is its simplified writing.

  • 釆釆biànto distinguish
  • 睪睪yìto release; to see

The traditional form 釋 puts 釆 (to distinguish) beside 睪, a part that gives the sound and means “to release; to see”; the simplified 释 is a later shortened shape.

Open 释 →
Appears in
Law & Justice5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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