被告席 (bèi gào xí) — the dock (in a courtroom); defendant's seat

Definition

The seat or enclosed area in a courtroom where the defendant sits during trial — literally 'defendant's seat'. Translates as 'the dock' in English.

noun

the dock (in a courtroom)defendant's seat

被告席。
Fǎ guān ràng zhèng rén zhàn dào bèi gào xí qián.
The judge told the witness to stand in front of the dock.
被告席，。
Tā zài bèi gào xí shàng dī zhe tóu, yì yán bù fā.
He was in the dock with his head down, not saying a word.
被告席。
bèi gào xí Hòu miàn zuò zhe yì míng fǎ jǐng.
There was a bailiff sitting behind the dock.

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.

被告defendant

前缀Prefix

被告 names the accused person, and 席 is the seat, together giving the courtroom dock.

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

衣衣yīclothing

Sound part声符shēngfú

皮

皮pí被bèi

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

被 pairs 衣 (clothing) with 皮, which gives the sound.

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

The origin is unclear: one theory sees 告 as 壴 (a decorated drum) above 口 (an open mouth), while another sees a tongue sticking out of 口.

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

席 originally showed a woven mat with an ornament. In 席, the mat became 巾, and a later sound part was written as 庶.

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