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私了 (sī le) — to settle privately (out of court, without legal involvement)

Definition

私了 (sī liǎo) means to settle a dispute privately, out of court — usually a money agreement between the two sides. It contrasts with going through 法院 or 走法律程序, and is most common for minor traffic accidents and small civil disputes.

verb
to settle privately (out of court, without legal involvement)

Examples

  • 私了。
    Zhè jiàn shì wǒ men sī le ba.
    Let's settle this matter privately.
  • 私了，。
    Tā men xuǎn zé le sī le, méi yǒu qù fǎ yuàn.
    They chose to settle privately and didn't go to court.
  • 私了，。
    Jiāo tōng shì gù kě yǐ sī le, dàn yào zhù yì qiān xié yì.
    Traffic accidents can be settled privately, but be sure to sign an agreement.

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.

私sīprivate
了liǎosettle

私 means private and 了 means to settle, together meaning settle privately.

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
禾禾hé
Sound part声符shēngfú
厶
厶sī私sī
Same sound today

私 combines 禾 and 厶; 厶 originally represented the word, and 禾 was added later.

Open 私 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

了 was once drawn to show a baby with no arms; some old comments say it showed crossed or tangled legs.

Open 了 →
Appears in
Conflict & AgreementLaw & Justice

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