情节 qíngjié circumstances
circumstances; plot; storyline
How to remember 情节: 情 feeling + 节 section = circumstances.
Characters
How it is used
- Plot / storyline; also 'the particulars of a case': 情节曲折 (qíngjié qūzhé) a twisty plot; 情节严重 (the circumstances are serious, legal).
- Two threads: the narrative plot of a story, and the details/severity of an incident in legal contexts.
- Literary and legal registers both common.