报案 (bào àn) — to report a case to the authorities

Definition

报案 specifically means filing a criminal or incident report with the police. To report wrongdoing or a wrongdoer, use 举报; for an emergency call, use 报警.

verb

to report a case to the authorities

Examples

报案。
Tā qù pài chū suǒ bào àn le.
He went to the police station to report the case.
。
Wǒ yǐ jīng bào guò àn le.
I have already reported the case.
报案。
Nǐ yīng gāi xiàng jǐng chá bào àn.
You should report the case to the police.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

报bàoreport

案àncase

“报” means to report and “案” means a case, so the word means to report a case to authorities.

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 報; 报 is its simplified writing.

㚔㚔㚔handcuffs
𠬝𠬝𠬝to subdue

The traditional form 報 puts 㚔 (handcuffs) beside 𠬝 (to subdue), showing someone restrained and subdued, as in convicting or punishing a guilty person. The simplified 报 is a later shorthand.

Open 报 →

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

木木mù

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.

Open 案 →

Appears in