告状
gào zhuàng · HSK 7
to complain
⚖️ 告 = tell/announce + 状 = complaint/lawsuit
告 means to tell or announce; 状 means a written complaint or legal document. Together: filing a complaint, tattling, or bringing a lawsuit against someone.
告 — ox 牛 (top) + mouth 口
Originally a pictograph showing an ox with something on its head, possibly a yoke or sacrificial marker, combined with 口 (mouth) to suggest announcing or reporting. The character came to mean 'to tell' or 'to announce,' as in making a formal declaration. Today it commonly appears in words like 告诉 (to tell) and 报告 (report).