疑狱

疑獄

yíyù

noun

Measure Word

一桩疑狱 zhuāng

Meanings

1 a difficult legal case
2 a case hard to judge
3 a case full of doubt

Characters

to doubt; doubtful

lawsuit; legal case (classical)

Examples

这是一桩多年未破的疑狱。

Zhè shì yī zhuāng duōnián wèi pò de yíyù.

This is a doubtful case that has gone unsolved for years.

古代官员审理疑狱时格外慎重。

Gǔdài guānyuán shěnlǐ yíyù shí géwài shènzhòng.

Ancient officials were especially cautious when judging difficult cases.

Tips

register

Classical / legal-historical register. Modern Chinese typically uses 疑案 (yí'àn) for a doubtful case or 悬案 (xuán'àn) for a cold case; 疑狱 mostly survives in historical writing or formal legal commentary. The 狱 here means 'lawsuit / criminal case,' not 'prison.'

Stroke Order

疑 yí

狱 yù