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预审 (yù shěn) — preliminary hearing (in criminal procedure); inquest (less common)

Definition

A formal legal term for the pre-trial stage in criminal or death-investigation procedure. In English this maps to 'preliminary hearing' for criminal cases and 'inquest' specifically for death cases.

noun
preliminary hearing (in criminal procedure)inquest (less common)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 预审。
    yù shěn Zài fǎ tíng zhèng shì kāi tíng qián jìn xíng.
    The preliminary hearing is conducted before the formal court session.
  • 预审。
    Fǎ guān jué dìng duì àn jiàn jìn xíng yù shěn.
    The judge decided to conduct a preliminary hearing on the case.
  • 预审。
    Sǐ wáng àn jiàn xū yào jīng guò yù shěn cái néng jié àn.
    Death cases need to go through an inquest before closure.

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.

预yùbeforehand
审shěnexamine

“预” (beforehand) and “审” (examine) combine to mean a preliminary hearing.

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 預; 预 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
予
予yǔ預yù
Same sound today

The traditional form 預 combines 予 for the sound and 頁 for the meaning; the simplified 预 is a later shorthand.

Open 预 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 審; 审 is its simplified writing.

  • 宀宀miánroof
  • 釆釆biànto distinguish
  • 田田tián

The simplified 审 abbreviates the traditional 審, which is built from 宀 (roof) and 釆 (to distinguish); the lower 田 is uncertain.

Open 审 →
Appears in
Law & Justice

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