身陷囹圄 (shēn xiàn líng yǔ) — to be thrown into prison; to be incarcerated

Definition

Formal/literary idiom meaning 'to be incarcerated'. 囹圄 refers to the prison itself, giving it a heavier, more bookish tone than plain 入狱.

idiom

to be thrown into prisonto be incarcerated

身陷囹圄。
Nà wèi jì zhě yīn wèi jiē lù fǔ bài ér shēn xiàn líng yǔ.
That journalist was thrown into prison for exposing corruption.
，身陷囹圄。
Zài hēi àn de nián dài, xǔ duō wú gū zhě shēn xiàn líng yǔ.
In dark times, many innocent people were imprisoned.
身陷囹圄，。
Tā shēn xiàn líng yǔ shí nián, zuì zhōng chén yuān dé xuě.
He was incarcerated for ten years and finally had his grievances redressed.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 身 comes from a drawing of a pregnant woman.

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

阜阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

臽

臽xiàn陷xiàn

Same sound today

In 陷, the older form 臽 pictured falling into a trap; 阜 was added later to differentiate it.

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

囗令囹

Meaning part形符xíngfú

囗囗wéienclosure

Sound part声符shēngfú

令

Same sound today

囹 has 令 inside 囗, an enclosure. The outer 囗 shows the idea of an enclosure, and the inner 令 gives the sound.

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

囗吾圄

Meaning part形符xíngfú

囗囗wéienclosure

Sound part声符shēngfú

吾

Same sound today

圄 combines 囗, an enclosure, with 吾, which gives the sound.