悬案 (xuán àn) — (legal) unsolved case, unsettled lawsuit; outst… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

悬案 literally means a 'suspended/pending case' — a matter, whether legal or not, that has been left open and not yet resolved.

noun

(legal) unsolved caseunsettled lawsuitoutstanding issueunresolved question (in general or non-legal contexts)

Measure word · 个

Examples

悬案。
Zhè ge xuán àn yǐ jīng guò le èr shí nián hái méi jiě jué.
This unresolved case has gone twenty years without being solved.
悬案。
Nà ge lì shǐ xuán àn zhì jīn réng shì xué zhě zhēng lùn de jiāo diǎn.
That historical unsettled issue is still the focus of scholarly debate.
悬案。
Jǐng fāng zhèng quán lì diào chá zhè zhuāng xuán àn.
The police are thoroughly investigating this unsolved case.

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.

悬xuánhanging

悬 “hanging” applied to 案 “case” means a case left unresolved.

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 懸; 悬 is its simplified writing.

縣心懸

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

縣

縣xiàn懸xuán

Same sound today

The traditional form 懸 adds 心, “heart,” to the older form 縣, which gave the sound. The simplified 悬 is a later abbreviation.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

木安案

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

安

安ān案àn

Same sound today

案 pairs 木, a wood/tree shape, with 安, which is used for its sound.

Appears in

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