平反 (píng fǎn) — to redress a miscarriage of justice; to overturn a wrongful verdict; to rehabilitate (a person wrongfully accused or condemned)

Definition

Formal verb meaning to officially overturn a wrongful judgment and clear the person's or event's name. Used for historical/political cases (e.g. rehabilitations after the Cultural Revolution), not everyday disputes.

verb
to redress a miscarriage of justiceto overturn a wrongful verdictto rehabilitate (a person wrongfully accused or condemned)

Examples

  • 平反。
    Fǎ yuàn zuì zhōng jué dìng wèi zhè qǐ yuān àn píng fǎn.
    The court finally decided to redress this wrongful case.
  • 平反。
    Xǔ duō lǎo gàn bù zài wén gé hòu dé dào le píng fǎn.
    Many veteran cadres were rehabilitated after the Cultural Revolution.
  • 平反。
    Zhèng fǔ xuān bù wèi gāi lì shǐ shì jiàn píng fǎn.
    The government announced the redress of that historical incident.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

平píngmake right
反fǎnoverturn

平 conveys making a case right and 反 conveys overturning it, together meaning redress.

Characters in this word

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

The origin is uncertain. One explanation combines 八 (division) and 亏 (exhaled air) to show smooth speech.

Open 平 →

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
又又yòuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
厂
厂chǎng反fǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

反 uses 又 (hand) for meaning and 厂 for sound. Its original shape showed a hand turning its palm over, giving the sense of return or reverse.

Open 反 →

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