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囚室 (qiú shì) — prison cell

Definition

noun
prison cell
Measure word · 间

Examples

  • 囚室。
    Tā bèi guān zài yì jiān qiú shì lǐ.
    He was locked in a prison cell.
  • 囚室。
    Zhè jiān qiú shì yòu xiǎo yòu àn.
    This prison cell is small and dark.
  • 囚室。
    Jǐng chá bǎ tā dài dào le qiú shì.
    The police took him to the prison cell.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

囚qiúprisoner/confine
室shìroom

囚 relates to prisoners, and 室 is a room, so it is a room for prisoners.

Characters in this word

Two 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.

Open 囚 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
至
至zhì室shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

室 puts 宀 (roof) over 至, the spot where someone stops, giving the meaning of a house or residence.

Open 室 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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