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拘禁 (jū jìn) — to detain; to take into custody

Definition

A formal/lawful term meaning to officially hold someone in custody by police or court order. Unlike lighter 拘留 (short administrative detention), 拘禁 emphasizes the state of being confined.

verb
to detainto take into custody

Examples

  • 拘禁。
    Tā yīn shè xián dào qiè bèi jǐng fāng jū jìn le.
    He was detained by the police on suspicion of theft.
  • 拘禁。
    Fǎ yuàn xià lìng jū jìn fàn zuì xián yí rén.
    The court ordered the suspect to be taken into custody.
  • 拘禁。
    Zhè zhǒng fēi fǎ jū jìn xíng wéi shì wéi fǎ de.
    This kind of illegal detention is against the law.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

拘jūrestrain
禁jìnconfine

Restraint 拘 and confinement 禁 together express detaining someone.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
句
句jù拘jū
Same sound today

The left part of 拘 is 扌, the hand form written in full as 手; the right part 句 gives the sound jù.

Open 拘 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
示示shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
林
林lín禁jìn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

禁 has 林 above 示, an altar. The 林 part gives the sound, and the altar part connects the character to taboo or restricted matters.

Open 禁 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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