政法 (zhèng fǎ) — politics and law (as a combined field, especially in China's political-legal system)

Definition

A compound referring to the combined field of 'politics and law' — in modern usage it almost always means China's political-legal system (公安、法院、检察院), not an academic study of two subjects.

noun
politics and law (as a combined field, especially in China's political-legal system)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 政法。
    Tā bì yè yú yì suǒ zhù míng de zhèng fǎ dà xué.
    He graduated from a famous university of political science and law.
  • 政法、。
    zhèng fǎ Xì tǒng bāo kuò gōng ān, fǎ yuàn hé jiǎn chá yuàn.
    The political-legal system includes public security, courts, and procuratorates.
  • 政法。
    Zhè wèi lǐng dǎo cháng qī cóng shì zhèng fǎ gōng zuò.
    This leader has long been engaged in political-legal work.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

政zhèngpolitics
法fǎlaw

The fields of 政 politics and 法 law, joined as one area.

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
攴攴pūaction
Sound part声符shēngfú
正
正zhèng政zhèng
Same sound today

政 combines 正, which gives the sound, with 攴, an action-related part.

Open 政 →

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 →

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