司法局 (sī fǎ jú) — Bureau of Justice (government department overseeing legal affairs, lawyers, notaries, etc.)

Definition

A government office (司法 + 局) that manages legal affairs such as lawyers, notaries, and public legal education — not a court and not the police. Distinct from 法院, which adjudicates cases.

noun
Bureau of Justice (government department overseeing legal affairs, lawyers, notaries, etc.)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 司法局，。
    Tā zài sī fǎ jú gōng zuò, fù zé guǎn lǐ lǜ shī shì wù suǒ.
    He works at the Bureau of Justice, responsible for managing law firms.
  • 司法局。
    Shì mín kě yǐ qù sī fǎ jú zī xún fǎ lǜ wèn tí.
    Citizens can go to the Bureau of Justice for legal advice.
  • 司法局。
    Zhè ge shì de sī fǎ jú zǔ zhī le yí cì pǔ fǎ xuān chuán.
    The city's Bureau of Justice organized a legal awareness campaign.

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.

司法legal affairs
司sīadminister法fǎlaw
动宾Verb + object
局júbureau

司 (administer) and 法 (law) make 司法, and 局 (bureau) names the legal-affairs office.

Characters in this word

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

The evidence is inconclusive: one suggestion sees 司 as a mouth giving orders beside a mark of authority, another reads that mark as a hand, and another sees it as a reversed older form.

Open 司 →

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.

Open 法 →

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
尸尸shī
Sound part声符shēngfú
句
句jù局jú
Same sound today

The shape of 局 pairs 尸, a meaning part, with 句, a sound part.

Open 局 →

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