辩护 (biàn hù) — to defend (verbally), to plead, to argue in fav… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

辩护 is the legal/debate term for 'to defend (someone or a position)' — more formal and argumentative than 辩解, which is justifying yourself. Distinct from 辩 (general arguing) and 防御/捍卫 (defending against attack, not verbally).

verb

to defend (verbally)to pleadto argue in favor of (in a legal or argumentative context)

Examples

辩护。
Lǜ shī zài fǎ tíng shàng wèi bèi gào biàn hù.
The lawyer defended the defendant in court.
辩护。
Tā zài biàn lùn zhōng wèi zì jǐ de guān diǎn biàn hù.
He defended his own viewpoint during the debate.
，辩护。
Tā jué dìng bù qǐng lǜ shī, zì jǐ wèi zì jǐ biàn hù.
He decided not to hire a lawyer and to defend himself.

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.

护hùdefend

辩 shows that 护 is done by arguing, so it means to defend verbally.

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 辯; 辩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

辡

辡biàn辯biàn

Same sound today

The traditional form 辯 pairs 言, meaning say, with 辡, which gives the sound; the simplified 辩 is a later shorthand.

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

扌户护

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

户

户hù护hù

Same sound today

护 combines 扌 (the hand form 手) with 户, which gives the sound hù.

Appears in

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