被告 meaning in English

bèigào

(law) the defendant; the accused

HSK 6noun17 strokes

Meaning of 被告

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

bèigào

(law) the defendant; the accused

How to use 被告

被告 is a formal legal term used in court reports, news, and contracts. Its opposite is 原告 (yuángào), the plaintiff. Example: 被告当庭认罪。 (Bèigào dāngtíng rènzuì.) The defendant pleaded guilty in court.

被 (bèi) marks the passive, like being acted on, and 告 (gào) means to accuse or report. The 被告 is the person who is "being accused" in court.

Common mistake: Learners sometimes mix up 被告 (defendant) and 原告 (plaintiff) because both end in 告. Remember that 被 shows the person receiving the action, so the 被告 is the one being sued, not the one suing.

被告 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

被bèi告gào周zhōu五wǔ将jiāng会huì出chū现xiàn在zài法fǎ庭tíng上shàng。

The accused is to appear before the court on Friday.

我wǒ们men没méi有yǒu被bèi告gào知zhī他tā从cóng哪nǎ里lǐ来lái。

We weren't told where he came from.

汤tāng姆mǔ需xū要yào被bèi告gào知zhī怎zěn么me做zuò。

Tom needs to be told what to do.

他tā们men已yǐ经jīng被bèi告gào知zhī了liǎo。

They have already been informed.

法fǎ庭tíng宣xuān判pàn被bèi告gào无wú罪zuì。

The court declared the defendant innocent.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

被 bèi · quilt · 10 strokes

告 gào · to say · 7 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 被告.

告诉	gàosu	to press charges; to file a complaint
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
被子	bèizi	blanket; quilt
被迫	bèipò	to be compelled; to be forced
转告	zhuǎngào	to pass on; to communicate
警告	jǐnggào	to warn; to admonish
公告	gōnggào	post; announcement
被动	bèidòng	passive
原告	yuángào	complainant; plaintiff
被捕	bèibǔ	to be arrested; under arrest

Questions about 被告

What does 被告 mean?

被告 (bèigào) means "(law) the defendant; the accused" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 被告?

被告 is made of 2 characters: 被 (10 strokes), 告 (7 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.

Is 被告 an HSK word?

Yes. 被告 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

Can 被告 be used as a verb meaning "to be sued"?

In everyday speech you may hear 他被告了 (tā bèi gào le), meaning "he got sued." Here 被 and 告 work as a normal passive phrase. As a fixed word, 被告 is a noun for the defendant.

Is 被告 used for both civil and criminal cases?

Yes, 被告 works for both, especially in civil cases. In criminal cases, formal Chinese often uses 被告人 (bèigàorén) for the accused.