盗窃案 (dào qiè àn) — theft case, burglary case

Definition

A compound noun for a 'theft case' — a criminal case of stealing, used in legal and news contexts. Composed of 盗窃 (theft) + 案 (case, file).

noun

theft caseburglary case

Measure word · 起

Examples

盗窃案。
Jǐng fāng zhèng zài diào chá zhè qǐ dào qiè àn.
The police are investigating this theft case.
盗窃案。
Tā yīn wèi yì qǐ dào qiè àn bèi pàn le sān nián.
He was sentenced to three years for a burglary case.
盗窃案。
Zuì jìn xiǎo qū fā shēng le duō qǐ dào qiè àn.
Recently, multiple theft cases have occurred in the neighborhood.

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.

盗窃theft

盗dàosteal窃qièsteal

联合Side by side

案àncase

盗窃 means stealing and 案 is a case, so the word denotes a theft case.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 盜; 盗 is its simplified writing.

㳄㳄㳄
舟舟zhōuboat

The traditional form 盜 combines 㳄 (drooling/craving) with a vessel shape, meaning to covet someone else's possessions and steal; 盗 is the simplified writing of 盜.

Open 盗 →

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 竊; 窃 is its simplified writing.