法院 (fǎ yuàn) — court of law; court

Definition

法院 is the 'court of law' as an institution (the system that judges cases). 法庭 is the physical courtroom where hearings happen. Don't confuse with 球场, a sports court.

noun
court of lawcourt
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 法院。
    Zhè ge àn zi yǐ jīng tí jiāo dào fǎ yuàn le.
    This case has been submitted to the court.
  • 法院。
    fǎ yuàn De fǎ guān xuān bù le pàn jué jié guǒ.
    The judge of the court announced the verdict.
  • 法院。
    Tā yīn wèi tōu qiè bèi fǎ yuàn pàn le sān nián.
    He was sentenced to three years by the court for theft.

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
院yuàninstitution

'法' shows law and '院' shows an institution, together naming a court.

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
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
完
完wán院yuàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

院 is built from 阝, written in full as 阜, and 完, which gives the sound.

Open 院 →
Appears in
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