监狱

• ピンイン: jiān yù
• 漢字の分解: 监 = 臣 + 皿 (official oversight and confinement); 狱 = 犬 + 言 + 犬 (two dogs flanking speech — the guarded place where testimony is held, a prison)

意味

刑務所（監獄）

The standard word for prison in mainland China. Appears in legal, journalistic, and literary contexts. Distinct from 拘留所 (detention centre for shorter periods) and 看守所 (pre-trial detention facility). Also used figuratively to describe any situation that feels like a trap or total confinement. The related term 监狱制度 (prison system) appears in criminology and legal reform discourse.

例文

1. 他因诈骗罪被判入狱，在监狱中服刑五年。
2. 改善监狱条件是保障服刑人员基本权利的重要措施。
3. 她用监狱来形容那段无法逃脱的婚姻生活。

使い方ガイド

場面: law, journalism, literature, social commentary, criminal justice

トーン: neutral

正しい言い方

• 监狱的功能应以惩罚隔离还是矫正再社会化为主，一直是刑改中的争议焦点。(Whether prisons should focus on punishment and isolation or on rehabilitation and resocialization has long been a point of controversy in prison reform.)
• 他在自传中写下监狱里的七年，把那段封闭生活视为与真实自我相遇的修行。(In his autobiography, he wrote about his seven years in prison and saw that closed life as a form of practice that brought him face to face with his true self.)

避ける言い方

• 监狱 refers specifically to a prison for convicted criminals serving sentences. Do not confuse with 看守所 (pre-trial detention centre) or 拘留所 (short-term detention). Figurative use of 监狱 is common in literature but may sound dramatic in plain speech — use 困境 or 牢笼 for metaphorical confinement in most contexts.

起源と歴史

监 (to supervise; to confine — 臣 official + 皿 vessel — one confined under official watch) + 狱 (prison — 犬 dog + 言 speech + 犬 dog — two watchdogs flanking a prisoner)

文化的背景

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal