Japanese word

裁く

Pronunciation

Romajisabaku

Meaning

  • verbjudge

Example

裁判官は毎日、事件を裁きます。sai ban kan wa mai nichi ji ken o saba ki ma su

The judge tries cases every day.

Illustration for 裁く (judge)

More examples

人を外見で裁いてはいけません。hito o gai ken de saba i te wa i ke ma se n

You must not judge people by their appearance.

Core concept

Describes carefully considering a matter in court and determining the proper judgment.

Common phrases

  • 事件を裁くji ken o saba ku

    try a case

  • 人を裁くhito o saba ku

    judge a person

  • 公正に裁くkō sei ni saba ku

    judge fairly

Similar words

裁定するsaiteisuru: To settle a dispute or case by making a formal decision.
判定するhanteisuru: To decide the result of a matter based on evidence or set standards.

Definition in Japanese

事件の内容を調べ、裁判で判断を下す。ji ken no nai yō o shira be sai ban de han dan o kuda su

Word origin

裁く (sabaku) is a native Japanese verb, and 裁 (sai, "judge and decide") is the kanji assigned to its legal sense; its historical word origin is not certain.

Usage tips

  • The legal use of try in try a case does not mean attempt but means to hear and decide a case, making it a useful English link to 裁く (sabaku).

Other meanings

  • decideverb
  • tryverb

Related words

  • 裁きsabakijudgmentnoun

Word lists with this word