(jiān yù) - prison, jail in Mandarin
jiānyùTraditional: 監獄
HSK 5
#798 of 5,000 Core 1000
Translation
prison, jail
Word origin
监狱 means 'prison': 监 (jiān, 'to supervise, to oversee', simplified from 監) plus 狱 (yù, 'prison', simplified from 獄, flanked by two 犬 dog elements around 言 speech, an old image of litigation). Together: a guarded place of confinement.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 监 (jiān, to oversee) + 狱 (yù, prison)
Stroke order
监
狱
Examples
。
He was put in prison.
。
Conditions in the prison are very bad.
。
He spent three years in prison.
。
The prison is full of inmates.
。
He spent five years in prison.
监狱 (jiān yù) means prison, jail. It is used as a noun in everyday Mandarin speech.
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Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 16.