报案人 (bào àn rén) — person who reports a case (to the police)

Definition

noun

person who reports a case (to the police)

Measure word · 个

Examples

报案人。
Jǐng chá zhèng zài xún wèn zhè wèi bào àn rén.
The police are questioning this person who reported the case.
报案人。
bào àn rén Xiàng jǐng chá shuō le dāng shí de qíng kuàng.
The person who reported the case told the police the situation at that time.
报案人。
Fǎ yuàn yào zhè wèi bào àn rén chū tíng.
The court wants this person who reported the case to appear in court.

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.

报案report a case

报bàoreport案àncase

动宾Verb + object

人rénperson

报案 means report a case and 人 means person; together it names a person who reports a case.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.