法令 (fǎ lìng) is a formal noun meaning 'statute' or 'law'—a written rule officially enacted by a government or legislative body. The character 法 (fǎ) means 'law', 'method', or 'principle', while 令 (lìng) originally meant 'command' or 'order'; together, they emphasize authoritative, binding legal provisions—not customary practice or moral guidance, but codified rules with enforcement power.

This term appears most often in official, legal, and administrative contexts: government announcements, news reports on legislation, legal documents, and formal speeches. It carries a neutral-to-formal register and is rarely used in casual conversation. 法令 is typically countable (e.g., 一项法令 'a statute') and often modified by adjectives like 新 (xīn, 'new'), 行政 (xíngzhèng, 'administrative'), or 紧急 (jǐnjí, 'emergency'). Unlike broader terms like 法律 (fǎlǜ, 'law' in general), 法令 refers specifically to individual, promulgated enactments.