狱 (yù) — (bound morpheme) prison, jail; (bound morpheme) lawsuit, criminal case (in legal compounds)
Definition
狱 is a bound morpheme meaning 'prison' (as in 监狱) or 'lawsuit/criminal case' (as in 冤狱, 越狱). It never stands alone — always combine it with another character to form a legal-term compound.
bound form
(bound morpheme) prisonjail(bound morpheme) lawsuitcriminal case (in legal compounds)
Examples
- 。Tā yīn wèi fàn zuì bèi sòng jìn le jiān yù.He was sent to prison for committing a crime.
- ，。Zhè ge àn jiàn shè jí yuān yù, xū yào chóng xīn diào chá.This case involves an unjust verdict and needs to be reinvestigated.
- 。Yuè yù shì fēi cháng yán zhòng de fàn zuì xíng wéi.Breaking out of prison is a very serious crime.
Origin
Compound ideograph六书liùshū
会意huìyìTwo or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.
This origin belongs to the traditional form 獄; 狱 is its simplified writing.
- 㹜㹜㹜two dogs
- 言言yánwords
The traditional form 獄 pairs 㹜 (two dog forms) with 言 (words), showing dogs barking at each other in a jail with guard dogs. The simplified 狱 is a later shorthand.
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