bei6 gou3被告
Jyutpingbei6 gou3
Yalebeih gou
Definition
Defendant; the accused party in a court of law.
neutralpeople
How it's used
Refers specifically to a person facing legal charges in a court of law. Unlike formal legal terminology, it is frequently used in news reports and casual conversation about criminal cases. It is almost always preceded by the classifier 個 when used in spoken sentences.
Measure word
go3個goExamples
The defendant is in court today.
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using this word to describe someone who is simply being blamed or accused in a non-legal, everyday argument, as it sounds overly formal or dramatic in those contexts.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
