司法部 (Sī fǎ bù) — Ministry of Justice

Definition

noun
Ministry of Justice
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 司法部。
    Sī fǎ bù Fā bù le xīn de fǎ lǜ fǎ guī.
    The Ministry of Justice released new laws and regulations.
  • 司法部，。
    Tā zài Sī fǎ bù gōng zuò, fù zé fǎ lǜ jiān dū.
    He works at the Ministry of Justice and is responsible for legal supervision.
  • 司法部。
    Sī fǎ bù De gǎi gé fāng àn dé dào le guǎng fàn zhī chí.
    The Ministry of Justice's reform plan received widespread support.

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administer law
司sīadminister法fǎlaw
动宾Verb + object
部bùdepartment

司法 means administering law, and 部 is a department, so the whole names the government department for justice.

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
邑邑yì
Sound part声符shēngfú
咅
咅pǒu部bù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

部 pairs 咅, which gives the sound, with 邑. It originally named a place in today's Gansu.

Open 部 →
Appears in
Groups & OrganizationsGovernment & PoliticsLaw & Justice

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