囚 (qiú) — to imprison, to take into custody
Definition
囚 (qiú) is a formal/literary verb meaning 'to imprison,' almost always paired with 禁 as the set phrase 囚禁. It appears mostly in news, legal, or historical writing rather than everyday speech.
verb
to imprisonto take into custody
Examples
- 。Fēi fǎ qiú jìn tā rén shì fàn zuì xíng wéi.Illegally imprisoning others is a criminal act.
- 。Dí jūn jiàng lǐng bèi qiú jìn zài zhàn fú yíng lǐ.The enemy general was imprisoned in a POW camp.
- 。Gǔ dài dì wáng cháng bǎ fǎn duì zhě qiú jìn zài dà láo lǐ.Ancient emperors often imprisoned their opponents in dungeons.
Origin
Compound ideograph六书liùshū
会意huìyìTwo or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.
- 囗囗wéibox, enclosure
- 人人rénperson
囚 puts 人 (person) inside 囗 (box, enclosure), making a person enclosed, hence prisoner.
Appears in
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