牢

牢 U+7262, 牢 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-7262 ← 牡 [U+7261] CJK Unified Ideographs 牣 → [U+7263]

牢 U+F946, 牢 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F946 ← 聾 [U+F945] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 磊 → [U+F947]

Translingual

Han character

牢 (Kangxi radical 93, 牛+3, 7 strokes, cangjie input 十竹手 (JHQ), four-corner 3050₂, composition ⿱宀牛)

Derived characters

• 𠈭 哰 𢚄 𫰴 (⿰女牢) 㟉 𤉍 浶 𢭂 𣒲 𭷡 (⿰牜牢) 𣇟 𥒪 𦰤 𥭲 𦕵 䜮 𨦭 𨌚 𪁔 (𩧷) 𤚧 𫳵 (⿰牢何) 𬁖 (⿰星牢) 𣋀 𡫡

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 698, character 1
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 19934
• Dae Jaweon: page 1110, character 2
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 1802, character 6
• Unihan data for U+7262

• Unihan data for U+F946

Chinese

simp. and trad.		牢

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 牢
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (牢) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
牢	*ruː
窂	*ruː
哰	*ruː

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 宀 (“pen; animal yard”) + 牛 (“cow”)

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): láo (lao²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄠˊ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): nao²

• Cantonese (Jyutping): lou⁴
• Jin (Wiktionary): lau¹
• Eastern Min (BUC): lò̤
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): lâu / tiâu / láu / lô / lô͘

  (Teochew, Peng'im): lo⁵

• Wu (Northern, Wugniu): ⁶lau / ²lau
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): lau²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: láo
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄠˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: láo
    • Wade–Giles: lao²
    • Yale: láu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: lau
    • Palladius: лао (lao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɑʊ̯³⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: nao²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: lao
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nau²¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: lou⁴
    • Yale: lòuh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: lou⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: lou⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lou̯²¹/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: lau¹
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /lau¹¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: lò̤
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /l̃o⁵³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lâu
    • Tâi-lô: lâu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: laau
    • IPA (Xiamen): /lau²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /lau¹³/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese, Singapore)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tiâu
    • Tâi-lô: tiâu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: diaau
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /tiau¹³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /tiau²³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei, Singapore): /tiau²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: láu
    • Tâi-lô: láu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: lao
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /lau⁵⁵⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lô
    • Tâi-lô: lô
    • Phofsit Daibuun: looi
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /lo¹³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /lɤ²³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei): /lo²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lô͘
    • Tâi-lô: lôo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: loo
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /lɔ²⁴/

Note:

• lâu - vernacular;
• tiâu/láu - vernacular (俗);
• lô/lô͘ - literary.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: lo⁵
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: lô
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lo⁵⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶lau
    • MiniDict: lau^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³lau
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /lɔ²³/
  • (Northern: Suzhou, Hangzhou)
    • Wugniu: ²lau
    • MiniDict: lau^平
    • Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /læ²²³/
    • Sinological IPA (Hangzhou): /lɔ²³/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: lau²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɒu̯¹³/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 牢
Mandarin	Beijing	/lɑu³⁵/
	Harbin	/lau²⁴/
	Tianjin	/lɑu⁴⁵/
	Jinan	/lɔ⁴²/
	Qingdao	/lɔ⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/lau⁴²/
	Xi'an	/lau²⁴/
	Xining	/lɔ²⁴/
	Yinchuan	/lɔ⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/lɔ⁵³/
	Ürümqi	/lɔ⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/nau²¹³/
	Chengdu	/nau³¹/
	Guiyang	/nao²¹/
	Kunming	/lɔ³¹/
	Nanjing	/lɔo²⁴/
	Hefei	/lɔ⁵⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/lau¹¹/
	Pingyao	/lɔ¹³/
	Hohhot	/lɔ³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/lɔ²³/
	Suzhou	/læ¹³/
	Hangzhou	/lɔ²¹³/
	Wenzhou	/lɜ³¹/
Hui	Shexian	/lɔ⁴⁴/
	Tunxi	/lə⁴⁴/
Xiang	Changsha	/lau¹³/
	Xiangtan	/naɯ¹²/
Gan	Nanchang	/lɑu⁴⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/lau¹¹/
	Taoyuan
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/lou²¹/
	Nanning	/lu²¹/
	Hong Kong	/lou²¹/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/lau³⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/lo⁵³/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/lau³³/ 名 /lau²¹/ 形
	Shantou (Teochew)	/lo⁵⁵/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/lau³¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: law

Rime
Character	牢
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	來 (37)
Final (韻)	豪 (89)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	魯刀切
Baxter	law
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/lɑu/
Pan Wuyun	/lɑu/
Shao Rongfen	/lɑu/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/law/
Li Rong	/lɑu/
Wang Li	/lɑu/
Bernard Karlgren	/lɑu/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	láo
Expected Cantonese Reflex	lou4

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*ruː/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	牢
Reading #	1/1
No.	7644
Phonetic component	牢
Rime group	幽
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	勞
Old Chinese	/*ruː/

Definitions

牢

1. pen; enclosure

   亡羊補牢，猶未遲也。 [MSC, trad.]
   亡羊补牢，犹未迟也。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wáng yáng bǔ láo, yóu wèi chí yě. [Pinyin]

   Repairing a sheep pen only after a sheep is lost is not considered tardy.

2. prison; jail

   監牢／监牢  ―  jiānláo  ―  prison

3. firm; fast; durable

   牢固  ―  láogù  ―  firm; durable

4. dependable; reliable
5. animal used for sacrificing

   太牢  ―  tàiláo  ―  animal used for sacrificing

6. with grievance and toil

   牢騷／牢骚  ―  láosāo  ―  to be discontented

7. (Northern Wu) indicates continuous aspect

   抱牢勿放 [Shanghainese]  ―  ⁶bau-lau₆ ⁸veq-faon₅ [Wugniu]  ―  holding on, not letting go

   捏牢 [Suzhounese]  ―  ⁸gniaq ²lau [Wugniu]  ―  kneading

   伊吃牢我。 [Shanghainese, trad. and simp.]

   ⁶yi ⁷chiq-lau₆ ⁶ngu [Wugniu]

   He’s staring at me.

8. a surname: Lao

Synonyms

• (pen): 圈 (juàn)
• (prison):

edit

• 囹圄 (língyǔ) (literary)
• 大牢 (dàláo) (archaic)
• 清室 (qīngshì) (archaic)
• 牢房 (láofáng)
• 牢獄／牢狱 (láoyù)
• 班房 (bānfáng) (colloquial)
• 監房／监房 (jiānfáng)
• 監牢／监牢 (jiānláo)
• 監獄／监狱 (jiānyù)
• 鐵屋／铁屋 (tiěwū) (literary, figurative)

 

• (firm):

edit

• 堅固／坚固 (jiāngù)
• 堅實／坚实 (jiānshí)
• 堅硬／坚硬 (jiānyìng)
• 扎實
• 深厚 (shēnhòu) (figurative, of foundations)
• 牢固 (láogù)
• 牢牢 (láoláo)
• 牢靠 (láokào)
• 瓷 (cí)
• 穩固／稳固 (wěngù)
• 結實／结实
• 緊實／紧实 (jǐnshí)
• 鞏／巩 (gǒng) (literary, or in compounds)
• 鞏固／巩固 (gǒnggù)

 

• (dependable):

edit

• 信實／信实 (xìnshí)
• 保險／保险 (bǎoxiǎn)
• 停 (tíng) (literary, or in compounds)
• 可恃 (kěshì) (literary)
• 可靠 (kěkào)
• 把牢 (bǎláo) (regional, chiefly in the negative)
• 把穩／把稳 (bǎwěn) (regional)
• 牢牢 (láoláo)
• 牢靠 (láokào)
• 穩妥／稳妥 (wěntuǒ)
• 穩當／稳当
• 穩陣／稳阵 (wan2 zan6) (Cantonese)

 

• (indicates continuous aspect): (Mandarin, Jin) 著／着 (zhe)

Compounds

• 不牢 (bùláo)
• 中牢
• 久慣牢成／久惯牢成
• 亡羊補牢／亡羊补牢 (wángyángbǔláo)
• 劫牢
• 南牢
• 吃牢
• 命不牢
• 囚牢 (qiúláo)
• 地牢 (dìláo)
• 坐牢 (zuòláo)
• 堅牢／坚牢 (jiānláo)
• 夜役軍牢／夜役军牢
• 大牢 (dàláo)
• 大發牢騷／大发牢骚
• 太牢 (tàiláo)
• 天牢
• 套牢 (tàoláo)
• 女牢
• 少牢 (shàoláo)
• 打鳳牢龍／打凤牢龙
• 抓牢
• 把牢 (bǎláo)
• 押牢
• 拖牢洞
• 持牢
• 搜牢
• 提牢
• 提牢官
• 死囚牢
• 滿肚牢騷／满肚牢骚
• 滿腹牢騷／满腹牢骚
• 牛驥共牢／牛骥共牢
• 牢不可拔
• 牢不可破 (láobùkěpò)
• 牢九
• 牢固 (láogù)
• 牢城
• 牢子
• 牢定
• 牢愁
• 牢成
• 牢成久慣／牢成久惯
• 牢房 (láofáng)
• 牢拴
• 牢牢 (láoláo)
• 牢獄／牢狱 (láoyù)
• 牢獄之災／牢狱之灾 (láoyùzhīzāi)
• 牢盆
• 牢眼
• 牢穩／牢稳
• 牢籠／牢笼 (láolóng)
• 牢籠計／牢笼计
• 牢落
• 牢角底
• 牢記／牢记 (láojì)
• 牢醴
• 牢靠 (láokào)
• 牢頭／牢头 (láotóu)
• 牢頭禁子／牢头禁子
• 牢飯／牢饭 (láofàn)
• 牢騷／牢骚 (láosāo)
• 牢騷滿腹／牢骚满腹
• 畫地為牢／画地为牢
• 當牢節級／当牢节级
• 發牢騷／发牢骚 (fā láosāo)
• 皋牢
• 監牢／监牢 (jiānláo)
• 蒲牢 (púláo)
• 虎牢關／虎牢关 (Hǔláo Guān)
• 軋牢／轧牢
• 軍牢／军牢
• 軍牢快手／军牢快手
• 顧犬補牢／顾犬补牢
• 餼牢／饩牢

 

Descendants

• → Manchu: ᠯᠣᠣ (loo)
  • → Solon: lō
• → Zhuang: lauz
• → Vietnamese: rào

Japanese

Alternative forms

• 籠

Kanji

牢

(Hyōgai kanji)

1. prison
2. stable, pen
3. secure

Readings

• Go-on: ろう (rō)^{←らう (rau, historical)}
• Kan-on: ろう (rō)^{←らう (rau, historical)}
• Kun: ひとや (hitoya, 牢)、かたい (katai, 牢い)

Compounds

Compounds

• 牢(ろう)獄(ごく) (rōgoku)
• 牢(ろう)屋(や) (rōya)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
牢
ろう Hyōgai
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 牢 (MC law).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ろー [róꜜò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɾo̞ː]

Noun

牢(ろう) • (rō) ^{←らう (rau)?}

1. prison

   Synonyms: 監獄 (kangoku), 牢屋 (rōya), 牢獄 (rōgoku)

Korean

Hanja

牢 • (roe, noe, ro, no) (hangeul 뢰, 뇌, 로, 노, revised roe, noe, ro, no, McCune–Reischauer roe, noe, ro, no, Yale loy, noy, lo, no)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Okinawan

Kanji

牢

(Hyōgai kanji)

Compounds

• 牢(るー)屋(や) (rūya, “prison”)

Noun

牢(るー) (rū) 

1. prison

   Synonyms: 監獄 (かんぐく, kanguku), 牢屋 (るーや, rūya)

References

• Kokuritsu Kokugo Kenkyūjo (国立国語研究所) (1963) 沖縄語辞典 (Okinawa-go Jiten) (in Japanese), Tokyo (東京): Okurashō Insatsu Kyoku (財務省印刷局)

Vietnamese

Han character

牢: Hán Nôm readings: lao, lào, sao, sau

1. chữ Hán form of lao (“prison”).
2. Nôm form of lao (“javelin, harpoon”).
3. Nôm form of Lào (“Laos”).
4. Nôm form of rao (“to announce”).
5. Nôm form of sao (“why, how”).
6. Nôm form of sao (“star”).
7. Nôm form of sau (“after”).
8. Nôm form of trau (“to polish”).