裁量

cáiliàng

verb

Meanings

1 to weigh and decide
2 to exercise discretion
3 to deliberate (legal/admin)

Characters

measure / weigh

Examples

执法人员应当依法行使自由裁量权。

Zhífǎ rényuán yīngdāng yīfǎ xíngshǐ zìyóu cáiliàng quán.

Law-enforcement officers should exercise discretionary power in accordance with the law.

法官在量刑时需要综合裁量各种因素。

Fǎguān zài liàngxíng shí xūyào zōnghé cáiliàng gè zhǒng yīnsù.

When sentencing, a judge needs to weigh various factors comprehensively.

Tips

register

Heavily legal/administrative. The fixed compound 自由裁量权 zìyóu cáiliàng quán ('discretionary power') is one of the most-cited terms in Chinese administrative law.

memory

裁 'cut / judge' + 量 'measure' → 'cut and measure' = weigh and decide. Compare 裁判 cáipàn ('to judge / referee').

Stroke Order

裁 cái

量 liàng