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法例 (fǎ lì) — legal code

Definition

法例 (fǎlì) refers to codified laws and statutes — a body of written legal provisions, not the broader legal system. Compare 法令 (executive decrees) and 法律 (the wider system of law).

noun
legal code

Examples

  • 法例。
    Zhè ge guó jiā de fǎ lì hěn wán shàn.
    This country's legal code is very comprehensive.
  • 法例。
    Xīn de fǎ lì jiāng yú míng nián shí shī.
    The new legal code will be implemented next year.
  • 法例。
    fǎ lì De zhì dìng guò chéng fēi cháng fù zá.
    The process of enacting a legal code is very complex.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

法fǎlaw
例lìrule

法 means law and 例 means rule, together giving legal code.

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
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 →

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
列
列liè例lì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

例 is built from 亻, which relates to people, and 列, which gives the sound.

Open 例 →
Appears in
Law & Justice

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