立法 (lì fǎ) — to legislate; to enact laws | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Refers to the official act of making or enacting laws, typically by a legislature (e.g., the National People's Congress). Distinct from 司法 (the judicial/judicature side) and 执法 (law enforcement).

verb

to legislateto enact laws

Examples

立法。
Quán guó rén dà shì zuì gāo lì fǎ jī guān.
The National People's Congress is the highest legislative body.
立法。
Zhè xiàng xīn fǎ lǜ jīng guò sān nián lì fǎ cái tōng guò.
This new law took three years of legislation to pass.
立法。
lì fǎ Bì xū tīng qǔ gōng zhòng yì jiàn.
Legislation must listen to public opinion.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

“立” means to set up or enact, and “法” means law; together they describe enacting laws.

Characters in this word

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

立 pictures a person standing on the ground.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Government & Politics Law & Justice

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