疑案 (yí àn) — unsettled legal case; mystery; puzzling matter | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A '疑案' is literally a 'doubting case' — an unsolved case or mystery, used in both legal and figurative (crime-fiction) contexts.

noun

unsettled legal casemysterypuzzling matter

Measure word · 个

Examples

，。
Zhè qǐ yí àn yǐ jīng diào chá le sān nián, zhì jīn méi yǒu jié guǒ.
This unsettled case has been investigated for three years and still has no result.
疑案。
Zhēn tàn xiǎo shuō lǐ zǒng shì chōng mǎn gè zhǒng yí àn.
Detective novels are always full of various mysteries.
疑案，。
Tā de shī zōng chéng le yì zhuāng yí àn, zhì jīn wú rén néng jiě.
His disappearance became a mystery that no one has been able to solve to this day.

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.

疑 points to doubt, and 案 names a case.

Characters in this word

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

大大dàstanding human figure
夂夂zhǐtilted head with open mouth
丨丨gǔncane

疑 depicts a standing figure 大 with a tilted, open-mouthed head 夂 and a cane 丨, a confused person looking around for direction.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

木安案

Meaning part形符xíngfú

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.

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