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打官司 (dǎ guān si) — to file a lawsuit, to sue; to squabble, to argue (informal)

Definition

A separable verb (离合词) meaning 'to file a lawsuit / sue'. Also used colloquially to mean 'to squabble over small things'. The object 官司 can take a measure word (打一场官司).

verb
to file a lawsuitto sueto squabbleto argue (informal)

Examples

  • 打官司。
    Tā jué dìng gēn gōng sī dǎ guān si.
    He decided to sue the company.
  • 打官司。
    Tā men wèi le yì diǎn xiǎo shì dǎ guān si.
    They squabbled over a small matter.
  • ，。
    Tā dǎ le yì chǎng guān si, huā le hěn duō qián.
    He filed a lawsuit and spent a lot of money.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

打dǎconduct
官司lawsuit
官guānofficial司sīofficial
联合Coordinate

打 means to engage in or conduct, and 官司 is a lawsuit; together they describe taking legal action.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng打dǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

打 uses 扌, a hand, to show an action done with the hand, and 丁 to give the sound.

Open 打 →

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

  • 宀宀mián
  • 𠂤𠂤𠂤

官 pairs 宀, a roof, with 𠂤, rooms beneath it, to depict an official building.

Open 官 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 6Law & Justice

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