Meaning of 原告
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- complainant
- plaintiff
How to use 原告
原告 is a legal term used in court cases, news reports and contracts. It is usually paired with 被告 (bèigào), the defendant. Example: 原告要求被告赔偿损失。(Yuángào yāoqiú bèigào péicháng sǔnshī.) The plaintiff demands that the defendant pay for the losses.
原 (yuán) means original, as in 原来 (yuánlái), and 告 (gào) means to tell or accuse, as in 报告 (bàogào). The 原告 is the original accuser, the person who first brings the complaint to court.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 原告 (plaintiff) and 被告 (bèigào, defendant). Remember that 被 marks the passive, so 被告 is the one being accused. Also keep the tones as yuán (second) and gào (fourth). Do not read it as yuǎn like 远 (far).
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
原 yuán · former · 10 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
告 gào · to say · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Related words
Words that share a character with 原告.
| 告诉 | gàosu | to press charges; to file a complaint |
| 原因 | yuányīn | cause; origin |
| 原来 | yuánlái | original; former; originally; formerly; at first |
| 广告 | guǎnggào | to advertise; a commercial |
| 报告 | bàogào | to inform; to report |
| 告别 | gàobié | to leave; to part from; to bid farewell to; to say goodbye to |
| 原则 | yuánzé | principle; doctrine |
| 转告 | zhuǎngào | to pass on; to communicate |
| 原料 | yuánliào | raw material |
| 警告 | jǐnggào | to warn; to admonish |
| 原始 | yuánshǐ | first; original |
| 草原 | cǎoyuán | grassland; prairie |
Questions about 原告
What does 原告 mean?
原告 (yuángào) means "complainant; plaintiff" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 原告?
原告 is made of 2 characters: 原 (10 strokes), 告 (7 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 原告 an HSK word?
Yes. 原告 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say 'to sue someone' in Chinese?
Common expressions are 起诉 (qǐsù) and 告 (gào), as in 他告了公司 (tā gào le gōngsī), he sued the company. The person who sues becomes the 原告.
Is 原告 used in everyday conversation?
Not often. It mostly appears in legal, news and formal contexts. In casual speech people tend to say 告状的人 or simply describe who sued whom.