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软禁 (ruǎn jìn) — (noun) house arrest; (verb) to place under house arrest

Definition

Confining someone to a residence (often their own) without locking them in a prison cell. Less severe than formal imprisonment — physical freedom is restricted but the person is not in jail.

noun
house arrest
verb
to place under house arrest

Examples

  • 软禁。
    Zhè wèi zhèng zhì fàn bèi pàn chǔ ruǎn jìn.
    This political prisoner was sentenced to house arrest.
  • 软禁。
    Zhèng fǔ ruǎn jìn le fǎn duì pài lǐng xiù.
    The government placed the opposition leader under house arrest.
  • 软禁。
    Tā mù qián chǔ yú ruǎn jìn zhuàng tài.
    He is currently in a state of house arrest.

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.

软ruǎnsoft
禁jìnconfinement

软 gives soft, 禁 gives confinement, confinement that is not physically harsh.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 軟; 软 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūcarriage
Sound part声符shēngfú
耎
耎ruǎn軟ruǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 軟 pairs 車 (carriage) with 耎 as a sound part; 耎 depicted a man under rain, and simplified 软 uses a later right side instead of 耎.

Open 软 →

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
示示shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
林
林lín禁jìn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

禁 has 林 above 示, an altar. The 林 part gives the sound, and the altar part connects the character to taboo or restricted matters.

Open 禁 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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