DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

對簿公堂

简对簿公堂 · 繁對簿公堂

Mandarin · pinyin duì bù gōng táng

public courtroom accusation (idiom)
legal confrontation
to take sb to court
to sue

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

對: duì · correct, right; facing, opposed
簿: bù · register, account book, notebook
公: gōng · fair, equitable; public; duke
堂: táng · hall; government office
对: duì · correct, right; facing, opposed

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–4–1–2 · dui4 bu4 gong1 tang2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

對簿公堂 · find source passages ↗ · 对簿公堂 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

deoi3 bou6 gung1 tong4

Cantonese word readings for 對簿公堂. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to confront someone in court; to go to court

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack