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案件 (àn jiàn) — (noun) legal case; instance (of a crime or incident)

Definition

A legal or criminal 'case' (a police investigation or court matter). Distinguish from 案例, which is a 'case' used as an example or precedent, and from 个案, an individual case in research or social work.

noun
legal caseinstance (of a crime or incident)
Measure word · 宗, 桩, 起

Examples

  • 案件。
    Zhè qǐ àn jiàn yǐn qǐ le quán shè huì de guān zhù.
    This case has drawn the attention of the whole society.
  • 案件。
    Jǐng fāng zhèng zài diào chá yì zōng àn jiàn.
    The police are investigating a case.
  • 案件。
    Zhè zhuāng àn jiàn yǐ jīng tuō le sān nián le.
    This case has been dragging on for three years.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

案àncase
件jiànitem

Both parts mean case or item, and together they point to a legal case.

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
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 →

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

件 is made of 人, 'man', and 牛, 'cow'.

Open 件 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Law & Justice2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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