拘 (jū) — (bound morpheme) to arrest, to detain; (bound morpheme) to restrain, to restrict; (bound morpheme) constrained, stiff (of personality or style)
Definition
A bound morpheme that only appears inside compound words: 拘留/拘捕 (arrest, detain) for the legal sense, and 拘束/拘谨 (stiff, ill-at-ease) for personality or style. By itself it is not used as a standalone verb or adjective.
bound form
(bound morpheme) to arrestto detain(bound morpheme) to restrainto restrict(bound morpheme) constrainedstiff (of personality or style)
Examples
- 。Jǐng chá jū bǔ le yí gè wéi fǎ fēn zǐ.The police arrested a lawbreaker.
- 。Zài zhè zhǒng zhèng shì chǎng hé tā xiǎn de hěn jū jǐn.He seems very stiff and ill-at-ease in this formal setting.
- 。Nà ge guī dìng jū shù le dà jiā de xíng wéi.That regulation restricted everyone's behavior.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
The left part of 拘 is 扌, the hand form written in full as 手; the right part 句 gives the sound jù.
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