案件
ànjiàn · HSK 7
a police case
🔍⚖️ 案 (desk/record) + 件 (item) = a case on file
An 案 is a desk or a documented record, and 件 means an item or piece. Together they form a documented item — a legal case. Think of it as one filed item sitting on the judge's desk.
件 — person radical 亻 + ox 牛
件 combines the person radical 亻 with 牛 (ox). Originally it referred to dividing or counting items, with oxen being valuable units of property to count. It came to mean a measurable item or matter, and today serves as a measure word for things, documents, and affairs.