诉讼 (sùsòng)

诉讼 refers to formal legal proceedings in court, encompassing both civil and criminal litigation, and is the standard term in Chinese legal and journalistic writing for lawsuits and court cases.

Meanings

[noun] lawsuit; litigation; legal proceedings

Example Sentences

这场诉讼历时两年才最终判决。 Zhè chǎng sùsòng lìshí liǎng nián cái zuìzhōng pànjué. This lawsuit took two years before a final verdict was reached.

公司因违反合同而面临诉讼风险。 Gōngsī yīn wéifǎn hétong ér miànlín sùsòng fēngxiǎn. The company faces the risk of litigation for breaching the contract.

他委托律师代理了这起民事诉讼。 Tā wěituō lǜshī dàilǐ le zhè qǐ mínshì sùsòng. He entrusted a lawyer to handle this civil lawsuit.

双方达成和解，避免了漫长的诉讼程序。 Shuāngfāng dáchéng héjiě, bìmiǎn le màncháng de sùsòng chéngsù. Both parties reached a settlement, avoiding lengthy litigation procedures.

这起知识产权诉讼引发了业界广泛关注。 Zhè qǐ zhīshí chǎnquán sùsòng yǐnfā le yèjiè guǎngfàn guānzhù. This intellectual property lawsuit attracted widespread attention from the industry.

提起诉讼是维护自身合法权益的重要途径。 Tíqǐ sùsòng shì wéihù zìshēn héfǎ quányì de zhòngyào tújìng. Filing a lawsuit is an important means of defending one's legal rights.

Collocations

Collocation	Meaning
民事诉讼 (mínshì sùsòng)	civil lawsuit
刑事诉讼 (xíngshì sùsòng)	criminal litigation
提起诉讼 (tíqǐ sùsòng)	to file a lawsuit
诉讼程序 (sùsòng chéngsù)	litigation procedure
诉讼风险 (sùsòng fēngxiǎn)	litigation risk

Usage Notes

诉讼 is a formal legal term. It typically appears in the compound 提起诉讼 (to initiate legal proceedings) or as a modifier: 诉讼程序 (procedures), 诉讼费用 (costs). In everyday speech people often use 打官司 (dǎ guānsī) informally, but 诉讼 is used in formal writing and journalism.

The two main types are 民事诉讼 (civil litigation) and 刑事诉讼 (criminal litigation). The word 仲裁 (zhòngcái, arbitration) refers to an out-of-court dispute resolution, contrasting with 诉讼.

Memory Hook

诉 (to tell/complain) + 讼 (to dispute/litigate): lodging a complaint and disputing it -- a lawsuit.