破案

• Pinyin: pò àn
• Hanzi breakdown: 破 = 石 + 皮 (stone + skin — to break through); 案 = 木 + 女 + 冖 (wooden frame — a record/case)

Meaning

To solve a case; to crack a criminal case. The successful identification of a perpetrator and resolution of a crime by investigators.

Used in law enforcement, journalism, and crime fiction. 破案率 = case clearance rate. Can refer to complex investigations (侦破积案) or high-profile crimes. Often paired with 侦破 for formal contexts.

Examples

1. 刑警队在掌握关键物证之后，仅用四十八小时便成功破案，将嫌疑人绳之以法。 After securing key physical evidence, the criminal investigation unit solved the case in just forty-eight hours and brought the suspect to justice.
2. 这起跨省诈骗案历经十个月的深入调查，最终在多地警方协作下顺利破案。 This cross-province fraud case took ten months of in-depth investigation and was ultimately solved through coordinated efforts by police in multiple locations.
3. 新型数字取证技术的引入大幅提升了复杂案件的破案效率，使许多曾经搁置的悬案重获侦破机会。 The introduction of new digital forensics technology has greatly improved the efficiency of solving complex cases, giving many once-stalled cold cases a fresh chance to be cracked.

Usage Guide

Context: law enforcement, crime, journalism, legal

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 该市公安局通过跨部门数据共享机制，将年度破案率提升至历史最高水平，有效震慑了辖区内的犯罪活动。(Through an inter-departmental data-sharing mechanism, the city's public security bureau raised its annual case clearance rate to a historic high, effectively deterring criminal activity within its jurisdiction.)
• 检察官在起诉书中详细列举了侦查人员破案过程中所采用的技术手段，以确保证据链的合法性和完整性得到法庭认可。(The prosecutor's indictment detailed the technical methods used by investigators during the case-solving process to ensure that the legality and completeness of the evidence chain received judicial recognition.)

Don't Say

• 破案 specifically refers to solving criminal cases — do not use it for resolving civil disputes or personal conflicts; for those, use 解决纠纷 or 化解矛盾; 侦破 is the more formal investigative term used in official reports

Origin & History

破 (to break, to solve — stone radical 石 + 皮 skin → breaking through) + 案 (case — 木 wood + 女 + ... → wooden table/record → legal case)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal