How to Write 圄 (yǔ) — Meaning “Prison / To imprison”

Picture a square prison cell (囗) with a person inside who says '吾' (wú), which sounds like 'woo' — imagine the prisoner shouting 'Woo, let me out!' This visual of a person trapped in a box helps link the outer enclosure and inner element to the meaning of 'prison.'

Start by drawing the outer square 囗 with three strokes (left vertical, top horizontal and right vertical, bottom horizontal) without closing it too early. Inside, write 吾 with its four horizontal strokes stacked evenly; the middle horizontal of 吾 should not touch the sides of the 囗. A common mistake is making the inner part too large or misaligning the vertical strokes of 吾.

圄 (prison) has 吾 inside, while 囷 (qūn, a round granary) has 禾 (grain) inside, and 囹 (líng) has 令 inside and is used only in the compound 囹圄. Visually, 圄 and 囹 both relate to prison, but 圄 can stand alone or in 囹圄, while 囹 never appears alone. Meaning-wise, 囷 refers to a grain storage building, not a prison.

圄 is rarely used by itself today; it appears almost exclusively in the literary term 囹圄 (líng yǔ), meaning 'prison' or 'jail.' This term is formal and often appears in news reports or classical literature, not in everyday conversation. Culturally, 囹圄 evokes a sense of ancient confinement and is sometimes used metaphorically to describe a trapped or restricted situation.

Common words containing 圄 include: 囹圄 (líng yǔ) — Prison / Jail; 圄中 (yǔ zhōng) — In prison; 圄闭 (yǔ bì) — To imprison / To confine.