案情 (àn qíng) — details of a case (in law); facts of a case

Definition

案情 refers specifically to the facts and circumstances of a legal case — what happened, who's involved, and how it unfolded. It is narrower than 案件, which means 'case' as a whole (file, trial, or legal matter).

noun
details of a case (in law)facts of a case

Examples

  • 案情
    Lǜ shī zǐ xì yán jiū le àn qíng de suǒ yǒu xì jié.
    The lawyer carefully studied all the details of the case.
  • 案情
    àn qíng De fù zá xìng chāo chū le fǎ guān de yù qī.
    The complexity of the case exceeded the judge's expectations.
  • 案情
    Jǐng fāng zhèng zài shū lǐ àn qíng, yǐ què dìng xián yí rén de dòng jī.
    The police are sorting out the facts of the case to determine the suspect's motive.

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.

àncase
qíngcircumstances

案, a case, joins with 情, its circumstances, to mean case details.

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
Sound part声符shēngfú
ānàn
Same sound today

案 pairs 木, a wood/tree shape, with 安, which is used for its sound.

Open 案 →

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
xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
qīngqíng
Same sound today

情 shows 心 (heart) beside 青, which gives the sound. The heart part points to feelings and inner states.

Open 情 →
Appears in

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