指控 (zhǐ kòng) — to accuse; to charge (with a crime) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

指控 (zhǐ kòng) is a formal legal term meaning 'to formally charge (someone with a crime)' — stronger and more official than 指责 (general criticism) or 控告 (to accuse/sue); the examples involve police, courts, and indictments.

verb

to accuseto charge (with a crime)

Examples

指控。
Jǐng fāng zhǐ kòng tā cān yù le yì qǐ qiǎng jié àn.
The police accused him of taking part in a robbery.
指控。
Tā zhǐ kòng duì fāng fěi bàng tā de míng yù.
She accused the other party of defaming her reputation.
指控。
Zhè míng guān yuán yīn shòu huì bèi zhèng shì zhǐ kòng.
This official was formally charged with bribery.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

指zhǐpoint out

指 means to point out and 控 means to accuse; the two senses combine to mean making an accusation.

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.

扌旨指

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

旨

旨zhǐ指zhǐ

Same sound today

The left part 扌 is the hand form 手. The right part 旨 gives the sound.

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

扌空控

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

空

空kōng控kòng

Same sound today

The left part is 手 written as 扌, showing a hand; the right part 空 gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Law & Justice 2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.