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审问 (shěn wèn) — to interrogate, to question (formally)

Definition

verb
to interrogateto question (formally)

Examples

  • 审问。
    Jǐng chá zhèng zài shěn wèn xián yí rén.
    The police are interrogating the suspect.
  • 审问。
    Tā bèi shěn wèn le hǎo jǐ gè xiǎo shí.
    He was interrogated for several hours.
  • 审问。
    Fǎ guān qīn zì shěn wèn le zhèng rén.
    The judge personally questioned the witness.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

审shěnexamine
问wènask

审 means examine and 问 means ask, giving the sense of interrogating.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 審; 审 is its simplified writing.

  • 宀宀miánroof
  • 釆釆biànto distinguish
  • 田田tián

The simplified 审 abbreviates the traditional 審, which is built from 宀 (roof) and 釆 (to distinguish); the lower 田 is uncertain.

Open 审 →

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 問; 问 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
門
門mén問wèn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 問 combines 口 (mouth) with 門, which gives the sound; the simplified 问 is a later shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 问 →
Appears in
Crime & PoliceLaw & Justice5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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