有案可查

yǒu àn kě chá
Literal: "have, case file, can, check"

📖 Meaning

There are documented records or files that can be consulted and verified. It indicates that evidence exists to support a claim or trace an event back to its source. Used to emphasize that something is verifiable rather than hearsay.

📜 Origin Story

This is a modern Chinese idiom without a classical literary origin. It derives from bureaucratic and legal usage in twentieth-century China, where 案 refers to archival case files kept by government offices, courts, or administrative bodies. The phrase gained currency as record-keeping and documentation became central to modern governance and jurisprudence. Today it is widely used in legal, journalistic, and administrative contexts.

💡 Example Usage

这笔款项的往来记录都有案可查,根本无法抵赖。

Every transaction of this money is on record and can be verified—there is no way to deny it.

🏷️ Category

➕ Similar Idioms

➖ Opposite Idioms

🔤 Quick Facts

  • Chinese: 有案可查
  • Pinyin: yǒu àn kě chá
  • Literal Translation: have, case file, can, check
  • Category: Clarity
  • Characters: 4