告 (gào) — to sue, to file a lawsuit against; to inform, to tell, to report (often formally)
Definition
告 is mostly literary/formal — the spoken equivalent of 'tell/inform' is 告诉, and the modern legal word for 'to sue' is 起诉. Prefer 告 in set phrases (告别, 告状, 告发) and formal writing.
verb
to sueto file a lawsuit againstto informto tellto report (often formally)
Examples
- 告。Gōng sī gào tā qiàn qián.The company sued him for owing money.
- 。Tā gào sù wǒ yí gè hǎo xiāo xi.He told me a piece of good news.
- 。Tā xiàng shàng jí gào fā le gōng sī de mì mì.He reported the company's secret to his superior.
Appears in
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