状告 (zhuàng gào) — to sue, to file a lawsuit against

Definition

verb

to sueto file a lawsuit against

状告。
Tā jué dìng zhuàng gào zhè jiā gōng sī qīn quán.
He decided to sue this company for infringement.
状告。
Shòu hài zhě yǐ jīng xiàng fǎ yuàn zhuàng gào le duì fāng.
The victim has already sued the other party in court.
状告。
Lǜ shī jiàn yì tā tōng guò fǎ lǜ tú jìng zhuàng gào.
The lawyer advised her to sue through legal channels.

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.

“状” means complaint and “告” means sue, so to sue by filing a complaint.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 狀; 状 is its simplified writing.

爿犬狀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

爿

爿pán狀zhuàng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 狀 pairs 犬 (dog) with 爿 as a sound component; the simplified 状 is a shorthand, not the historical shape.

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

The origin is unclear: one theory sees 告 as 壴 (a decorated drum) above 口 (an open mouth), while another sees a tongue sticking out of 口.