对簿公堂

對簿公堂
duìbùgōngtáng
idiom #36,619

Meanings

  1. 1 to face each other in court (idiom)
  2. 2 to take someone to court; to go to trial
  3. 3 to settle a dispute through legal proceedings

Examples

Liǎng jiā gōngsī zuìzhōng duìbùgōngtáng.
The two companies ended up facing each other in court.
Tāmen wèi yíchǎn duìbùgōngtáng, xiōngdì qíngfèn jìn shī.
They went to court over the inheritance, destroying their brotherly bond.
Wǒ bù xiǎng hé tā duìbùgōngtáng, xīwàng sīxià jiějué.
I don't want to take him to court — I hope to settle it privately.

Tips

history
From 《·将军》: 大将使广幕府簿 — General Wei Qing sends an aide to summon Li Guang to respond to charges on the written dossier (簿). The original 簿 meant 'to answer to the document'; was added later, when the idea settled into 'facing each other in court.'
mistakes
Watch the pronunciation: 簿 is bù, not bó. Also don't write as . The meaning is 'to face each other across the court document,' not 'to duel.'

Stroke Order

duì
簿
gōng
táng