被告人 (bèi gào rén) — defendant (in a legal case) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Legal term for the 'defendant' — the person being accused or sued in a case. Distinct from 原告 (yuángào, the 'plaintiff') who brings the suit.

noun

defendant (in a legal case)

Measure word · 个

Examples

被告人。
Fǎ guān xuān bù bèi gào rén wú zuì.
The judge declared the defendant not guilty.
被告人。
bèi gào rén Yǒu quán qǐng lǜ shī wèi zì jǐ biàn hù.
The defendant has the right to hire a lawyer to defend themselves.
被告人。
Fǎ tíng yāo qiú bèi gào rén míng tiān chū tíng.
The court requires the defendant to appear in court tomorrow.

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.

被告accused

被bèipassive告gàoaccuse

偏正Modifier + head

被告 points to the accused, and 人 means person, so it names the accused person.

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

衣衣yīclothing

Sound part声符shēngfú

皮

皮pí被bèi

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

被 pairs 衣 (clothing) with 皮, which gives the sound.

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

壴壴zhù
口口kǒu

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.

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Appears in

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.