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法网 (fǎ wǎng) — the net of justice; the long arm of the law (metaphor for the legal system that catches wrongdoers)

Definition

A metaphor for the legal system: the 'net of justice' that eventually catches wrongdoers. Famous from the phrase 天网恢恢，疏而不漏 — the net of justice is wide but lets nothing through.

noun
the net of justicethe long arm of the law (metaphor for the legal system that catches wrongdoers)

Examples

  • 法网。
    Tā zuì hòu luò rù le fǎ wǎng.
    He finally fell into the net of justice.
  • ，。
    fǎ wǎng Huī huī, shū ér bú lòu.
    The net of justice is vast, but nothing slips through.
  • 法网。
    Huài rén nán táo fǎ wǎng.
    Bad people cannot escape the net of justice.

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.

法fǎlaw
网wǎngnet

法 gives law and 网 gives net, expressing the law's catching reach.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 網; 网 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
罔
罔wǎng網wǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 網 pairs 糸 (rope) with 罔 to give the sound; the simplified 网 is a later shorthand.

Open 网 →
Appears in
Law & Justice

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