开庭 (kāi tíng) — to begin a court session, to open a trial

Definition

A formal/legal term meaning a court formally opens a trial session. Specific to judicial proceedings — not used for meetings or other gatherings.

verb

to begin a court sessionto open a trial

Examples

开庭。
Fǎ yuàn jué dìng xià zhōu sān kāi tíng.
The court decided to open the trial next Wednesday.
开庭，。
kāi tíng De shí hou, lǜ shī hé bèi gào dōu yào chū xí.
When the court session begins, both the lawyer and the defendant must be present.
开庭，。
kāi tíng Zhī hòu, shuāng fāng jìn xíng biàn lùn.
After the court session begins, both sides hold a debate.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

开kāiopen

庭tíngcourt

开 means to open and 庭 refers to the court, so the word means to open a court session.

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 開; 开 is its simplified writing.

門一廾開

門門méndoor
一一yīlatch and/or wooden pole that shuts a door
廾廾gǒnga pair of hands

The traditional form 開 shows 廾, a pair of hands, and 一, a latch or pole, inside 門, a door: hands opening a latched door. The simplified 开 is a shorthand form, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 开 →

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

广廷庭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

广广guǎng

Sound part声符shēngfú

廷

廷tíng庭tíng

Same sound today

庭 combines 广 with 廷. The 廷 part gives the sound, and 广 is the meaning part.

Open 庭 →

Appears in