wat1 daa2 sing4 ziu1屈打成招
Jyutpingwat1 daa2 sing4 ziu1
Yalewāt dá sìhng jīu
Definition
To torture an innocent person into confessing to false charges.
writtenpeopleother
How it's used
This idiom carries a heavy, serious tone often associated with historical injustice or corrupt policing. It describes a specific sequence where physical or mental duress is applied until the victim breaks and admits to a crime they did not commit. It is rarely used in lighthearted contexts and usually appears in news reports, legal discussions, or historical dramas.
Examples
They used torture to force the young man to confess.
Related words
Common phrases
suspected of extracting a confession through torture
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe simple persuasion or peer pressure. It strictly implies the use of force, violence, or severe intimidation to extract a false confession.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
