自首

zì shǒu

HSK 7–9

Meaning

to give oneself up
to surrender (to the authorities)

Definition

犯罪后主动向司法机关投案，如实交代自己的罪行。

To voluntarily surrender to judicial authorities after committing a crime and truthfully confess one's offenses.

Usage

用于法律语境，指犯罪嫌疑人或被告主动投案的行为，可依法从轻或减轻处罚。

Used in legal contexts to refer to the act of a suspect or defendant voluntarily surrendering, which may lead to a lighter or reduced punishment according to law.

Examples

1 他选择了自首，希望得到从宽处理。 (He chose to surrender himself, hoping for lenient treatment.)
2 警方劝告在逃人员尽快自首，争取宽大处理。 (The police advised fugitives to surrender as soon as possible to seek leniency.)
3 自首是法律给予犯罪嫌疑人的一条悔过自新之路。 (Surrendering is a path to repentance and rehabilitation provided by law for criminal suspects.)
4 由于他的自首行为，法官在量刑时给予了从轻处罚。 (Due to his act of surrendering, the judge gave a lighter sentence.)
5 在律师的劝说下，他最终决定向公安机关自首。 (Under the advice of his lawyer, he finally decided to surrender to the public security authorities.)

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