法官 (fǎ guān) — judge (in court)

Definition

法官 is a judge — the person who decides cases in a court of law (法院/法庭). It is a legal-court role, not the referee of a sports match (裁判) or a member of a contest panel (评委).

noun
judge (in court)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 法官。
    Zhè wèi fǎ guān hěn shòu rén men zūn jìng.
    This judge is highly respected by people.
  • 法官。
    fǎ guān Zài pàn jué qián zǐ xì yán jiū le zhèng jù.
    The judge carefully studied the evidence before the verdict.
  • 法官。
    Tā shì yì míng yōu xiù de fǎ guān.
    She is an excellent judge.

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.

法fǎlaw
官guānofficial

'法' means law, and '官' means official; together they name a legal official.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
廌廌zhìa type of antelope or caprid
Sound part声符shēngfú
盍
盍hé法fǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

法's older form combined 氵 (water) and 廌 (a type of antelope or caprid), with 盍 as a sound part; later 廌 was dropped.

Open 法 →

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

  • 宀宀mián
  • 𠂤𠂤𠂤

官 pairs 宀, a roof, with 𠂤, rooms beneath it, to depict an official building.

Open 官 →
Appears in
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