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作证 (zuò zhèng) — to testify; to bear witness; to serve as evidence

Definition

作证 (zuò zhèng) means 'to testify' in court or 'to serve as evidence' for documents or facts. Both the person giving testimony and the object providing evidence use the same verb.

verb
to testifyto bear witnessto serve as evidence

Examples

  • 作证。
    Tā yuàn yì shàng fǎ tíng zuò zhèng.
    He is willing to go to court to testify.
  • 作证？
    Nǐ kě yǐ wèi tā zuò zhèng ma?
    Can you testify for him?
  • 作证。
    Zhè xiē wén jiàn kě yǐ zuò zhèng.
    These documents can serve as evidence.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

作zuòmake
证zhèngevidence

作 means make and 证 means evidence, so the action is to make evidence by testifying.

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
乍
乍zhà作zuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 亻 comes from 人, meaning 'person', and the right side 乍 gives the sound.

Open 作 →

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 證; 证 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
登
登dēng證zhèng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 證 pairs 言, a words/speech part, with 登 as a sound clue; the simplified 证 is a later shorthand.

Open 证 →
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