执法 (zhí fǎ) — to enforce the law

Definition

执法 (zhífǎ) means 'to enforce the law' — the action of putting laws into effect, typically by police, courts, or regulators. A near-synonym is 司法, which refers more broadly to the judicial system and its administration of justice.

verb
to enforce the law

Examples

  • 执法。
    Jǐng chá bì xū yán gé zhí fǎ.
    The police must strictly enforce the law.
  • 执法。
    zhí fǎ Guò chéng zhōng yào gōng zhèng.
    One must be fair in the process of law enforcement.
  • 执法，。
    Tā men yī fǎ zhí fǎ, bǎo hù gōng mín quán yì.
    They enforce the law in accordance with the law and protect citizens' rights.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

执zhíenforce
法fǎlaw

执 means to hold or enforce, and 法 means law, together they denote enforcing the law.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 執; 执 is its simplified writing.

  • 㚔㚔㚔criminal / handcuffs
  • 丮丮jǐhand

The traditional form 執 shows 㚔, a handcuffed criminal, with 丮, a hand, giving the idea of arrest. The simplified 执 is a later shorthand, so its current parts are not the original pieces.

Open 执 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Law & Justice5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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