囚 (qiú): prisoner
囚 (qiú) is a Chinese character meaning “prisoner.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 囗 (structural) and 人 (structural). It ranks #2485 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 囚 a person 人 in a cell 囗. Its radical form 囗 (enclosure) appears in many related characters such as 四 (sì, four), 回 (huí, to circle), 国 (guó, country).
Definitions
- prisoner
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA person 人 in a cell 囗
Decomposition: ⿴囗人 (layout: full-surround)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 囚 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 囚犯 | qiú fàn | prisoner |
| 囚禁 | qiú jìn | to imprison |
| 囚室 | qiú shì | prison cell |
| 死囚 | sǐ qiú | prisoner that awaits execution |
| 囚徒 | qiú tú | prisoner |
| 囚笼 | qiú lóng | cage used to hold or transport prisoners |
| 囚衣 | qiú yī | prison uniform |
| 系囚 | xì qiú | prisoner |
| 锢囚锋 | gù qiú fēng | occluded front (meteorology) |
| 囚锢锋 | qiú gù fēng | occluded front (meteorology) |
| 劫囚 | jié qiú | to break a prisoner out of jail |
| 拘囚 | jū qiú | to imprison |
囚 appears in 12 compound words: 58 as the first character, 33 as the last, and 8 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 囚 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
囚犯服刑，改过自新。
Qiúfàn fúxíng, gǎiguò zìxīn.
Prisoners serve sentences to reform themselves.
继父藉身体检查性侵13岁继女 3罪罪成囚7年 官斥行为猥亵变态 令人发指
jì fù 藉 shēn tǐ jiǎn chá xìng qīn 1 3 suì jì nǚ 3 zuì zuì chéng qiú 7 nián guān chì háng wéi 猥 亵 biàn tài lìng rén fā zhǐ
The stepfather sexually assaulted his 13-year-old stepdaughter through a physical examination and was sentenced to 7 years in prison for 3 crimes
...犀牛角切片抵港遭海关拘捕 涉进口濒危物种囚两年
. . . xī niú jiǎo qiē piàn dǐ gǎng zāo hǎi guān jū bǔ shè jìn kǒu bīn wēi wù zhǒng qiú liǎng nián
... Rhino horn slices were arrested by customs on arrival in Hong Kong and imprisoned for two years for importing endangered species
航空公司前驻陆主管涉共谍判囚6月 高检署“这原因”不上诉
háng kōng gōng sī qián zhù lù zhǔ guǎn shè gòng dié pàn qiú 6 yuè gāo jiǎn shǔ zhè yuán yīn bù shàng sù
The former head of the airline stationed in mainland China was sentenced to prison for being involved in communist espionage in June, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate did not appeal for "this reason"
六旬妇认选举期间转贴呼吁杯葛选举贴文 判囚2月准缓刑1年半
liù xún fù rèn xuǎn jǔ qī jiān zhuǎn tiē hū xū bēi 葛 xuǎn jǔ tiē wén pàn qiú yuè zhǔn huǎn xíng nián bàn
A sixty-year-old woman who posted a call for a boycott of the election during the election was sentenced to two months in prison and given a one-and-a-half year probation
縱火奪5命!死囚林旺仁求法官「再給一次機會」 聲請再審遭...
縱 huǒ 奪 mìng ! sǐ qiú lín wàng rén qiú fǎ guān zài 給 yī cì 機 會 聲 請 zài 審 zāo . . .
Arson claims 5 lives! Death row inmate Lin Wangren pleads with judge for "one more chance" as retrial petition is...
国王下令把囚犯释放。
Guówáng xiàlìng bǎ qiúfàn shìfàng.
The king ordered that the prisoner should be set free.
囚犯们像疯子一样互相殴斗。
Qiúfàn men xiàng fēngzi yīyàng hùxiāng ōudòu.
The prisoners fought one another like so many mad people.
世界就是一个疯子的囚笼。
Shìjiè jiùshì yī gè fēngzi de qiú lóng.
The world is a den of crazies.
这个囚犯被带到法官面前。
Zhège qiúfàn bèi dài dào fǎguān miànqián.
The prisoner was brought before a judge.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 囚 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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