官司 guānsi lawsuit
How to remember 官司: 官 official + 司 department = lawsuit.
Characters
How it is used
- A colloquial word for a lawsuit - 打官司 (dǎ guānsi) to go to court / fight a legal case.
- Almost always in the collocation 打官司; note the neutral tone on 司 (guānsi). More casual than the formal 诉讼 (sùsòng).
- Figuratively 打嘴皮官司 = a war of words; also 吃官司 = to get sued / land in legal trouble.