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禁闭 (jìn bì) — to confine (as punishment); to place in solitary confinement

Definition

禁闭 (jìnbì) is a formal verb for locking someone away as punishment, typically in a cell or room with no outside contact. Common in military, disciplinary, or legal contexts.

verb
to confine (as punishment)to place in solitary confinement

Examples

  • 禁闭。
    Tā yīn wèi wéi guī bèi jìn bì le sān tiān.
    He was confined for three days because of violating the rules.
  • 禁闭。
    Jūn fǎ chǔ jué dìng jìn bì nà míng táo bīng.
    The military court decided to confine that deserter.
  • 禁闭。
    jìn bì Qī jiān bù zhǔn yǔ wài jiè jiē chù.
    During confinement, contact with the outside world is not allowed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

禁jìnrestrain
闭bìclose

禁 'restrain' and 闭 'close' combine to mean shut someone up.

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
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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 閉; 闭 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 材材cáimaterial; timber

The traditional form 閉 pairs 門 (door) with 材 (material; timber); the simplified 闭 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical component.

Open 闭 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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