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告状

gào zhuàng
HSK 3.0 Level 7 Verb Uncommon

Definitions

  1. 1. to tell on sb
  2. 2. to complain (to a teacher, a superior etc)
  3. 3. to bring a lawsuit

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Word relationships

Register variants

1 item
打小报告
dǎ xiǎo bào gào

(coll.) to tattletale; to rat on sb

informal: to tattle or snitch on someone

Related words

2 items
控告
kòng gào

to accuse

to file a lawsuit, more formal legal action
投诉
tóu sù

complaint

to lodge a complaint, often in customer service

Synonyms

1 item
告发
gào fā

to lodge an accusation

to report wrongdoing to an authority

Usage notes

Collocations

告状 often pairs with 向 (xiàng) to indicate the authority: 向老师告状 (complain to the teacher).

Common mistakes

告状 is not used for complaining about products or services; use 投诉 (tóusù) for those situations.

Example Sentences

1 shown
他常常向老师 告状 ，说同学欺负他。
He often tells on his classmates to the teacher, saying they bully him.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 告状

恶人先告状
è rén xiān gào zhuàng

the guilty party files the suit

Child Words of 告状

告
gào

to say

状
zhuàng

accusation