依法

yī fǎ

HSK 3.0 Level 7 Adverb Uncommon

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Definitions

1. legal (proceedings)
2. according to law

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Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 违法 wéi fǎ 违法 wéi fǎ illegal 依法 acts by law; 违法 acts against law: illegal

Related words

2 items

• 合法 hé fǎ 合法 hé fǎ lawful 依法 means in accordance with law; 合法 means lawful: lawful
• 守法 shǒu fǎ 守法 shǒu fǎ to abide by the law 守法 is to abide by law; 依法 is procedural 'by law': to abide by the law

Synonyms

1 item

• 按照法律 àn zhào fǎ lǜ 按照法律 àn zhào fǎ lǜ according to the law 按照法律 is more explicit 'according to law': according to the law

Usage notes

Collocations

依法 usually precedes a verb, e.g., 依法处理 (handle according to law), and does not take an object.

Common mistakes

Do not use 依法 as a predicate; *这件事依法 is ungrammatical. Use 这件事是合法的 or 这件事合法.

Example Sentences

2 shown

警方 依法 拘留了嫌疑人。

The police detained the suspect according to law.

公民有义务 依法 纳税。

Citizens have the obligation to pay taxes according to law.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 依法

• 依法治国 依法治国 yī fǎ zhì guó: to rule according to the law

Child Words of 依法

• 依 依 yī: to depend on
• 法 法 fǎ: France