收监 (shōu jiān) — to imprison, to take into custody (of a criminal)

Definition

A formal/legal verb meaning to take a criminal into custody and imprison them. Usually appears in the passive 被收监 in news and court reporting.

verb
to imprisonto take into custody (of a criminal)

Examples

  • 收监。
    Jǐng chá zhōng yú bǎ tā shōu jiān le.
    The police finally took him into custody.
  • 收监。
    Zhè ge zuì fàn bèi fǎ yuàn shōu jiān wǔ nián.
    This criminal was sentenced to five years in prison by the court.
  • 。
    Tā yīn wèi tān wū bèi shōu le jiān.
    He was taken into custody for corruption.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

收shōutake in
监jiānprison

收 means take in and 监 is a prison, so the meaning is putting someone into custody.

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
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
丩
丩jiū收shōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

收 uses 攴 to show an action and 丩 as a sound clue; the old meaning was 'to arrest.'

Open 收 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 監; 监 is its simplified writing.

  • 臥臥wòa person with an emphasized eye
  • 皿皿mǐncontainer

The traditional form 監 shows 臥, a person with an emphasized eye, looking into 皿, a container; the simplified 监 is a later shorthand.

Open 监 →

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