Meaning of 起诉
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to sue
- to bring a lawsuit against
- to prosecute
How to use 起诉
起诉 is a formal legal word used for both private lawsuits and criminal prosecution. The person or company being sued usually follows directly, or appears with 对 or 向法院. Example: 他决定起诉那家公司。(Tā juédìng qǐsù nà jiā gōngsī.) He decided to sue that company.
起 (qǐ) means to rise or start, and 诉 (sù) means to tell or complain, with the speech radical 讠 on the left. To 起诉 is to start telling your complaint to a court.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 诉 (sù) with 拆 (chāi, to take apart), since both end in 斥 on the right. 诉 has the speech radical 讠, and 拆 has the hand radical 扌. Also do not read 诉 with a neutral tone as in 告诉 (gàosu). In 起诉 it keeps its full fourth tone.
起诉 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
起 qǐ · to rise · 10 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
诉 sù · to accuse · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
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- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Related words
Words that share a character with 起诉.
| 告诉 | gàosu | to press charges; to file a complaint |
| 一起 | yīqǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with) |
| 起来 | qǐlái | to stand up; to get up; also pr. [qi3lai2] |
| 对不起 | duìbuqǐ | I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon; to let (sb) down; to disappoint |
| 起床 | qǐchuáng | to get out of bed; to get up |
| 想起 | xiǎngqǐ | to recall; to think of |
| 起飞 | qǐfēi | (of an aircraft or rocket) to take off; to lift off; (fig.) (of an enterprise etc) to star |
| 看起来 | kàn qǐlái | seemingly; apparently; looks as if; appears to be; gives the impression that; seems on the |
| 了不起 | liǎobuqǐ | amazing; terrific |
| 引起 | yǐnqǐ | to give rise to; to lead to; to cause; to arouse |
| 投诉 | tóusù | to lodge a complaint |
| 看不起 | kànbuqǐ | to look down upon; to despise |
Questions about 起诉
What does 起诉 mean?
起诉 (qǐsù) means "to sue; to bring a lawsuit against" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 起诉?
起诉 is made of 2 characters: 起 (10 strokes), 诉 (7 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 起诉 an HSK word?
Yes. 起诉 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 起诉 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 起诉 is written 起訴.
How do you say someone was sued, in the passive?
Use 被: 他被起诉了 (tā bèi qǐsù le), he was sued or he was prosecuted. The person filing the case is the 原告 (yuángào), and the one being sued is the 被告 (bèigào).
What is the difference between 起诉 and 告?
告 (gào) is the everyday spoken way to say sue, as in 我要告你 (wǒ yào gào nǐ), I am going to sue you. 起诉 is more formal and is the word used in news reports and legal documents.