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| 牢 láo |
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| Explanation: prison; firm; durable |
| 牢固 firm;secure 牢狱 prison;jail |
你看这个字（ ），很像一只牛被困在围栏里。把牛围起来就可防止牛逃跑，就正如囚犯被困在监牢一样，而且监牢必须要稳固，才可防止囚犯逃走。所以牢就有了“稳固”的含义。
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Looking at the original form of this character we can see it looks like an “ox” enclosed in a corral （ ）. As the character evolved, a mark was added which represented a big log leaning against the corral gate, so that ox would not be able to run out. In this way , the corral has became more sturdy. So the original meaning for牢 was “corral for oxen”. But the meaning came to indicate also “a place for caging a criminal”, like囚牢(qiú láo), 监牢(jiān láo), “prison” or “jail”. Since a “prison” or “jail” must be “firm”, so牢 can be used as an adjective as well as a noun.
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