囚 meaning and stroke order
Prisoner, convict; to confine
How to write 囚, stroke by stroke
5 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 4
- 5
Meaning of 囚
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- prisoner
How 囚 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A person 人 in a cell 囗.
Radical: 囗 (enclosure), shared by 39 characters on this site.
How to remember 囚
The box 囗 is a cell and 人 (rén) is a person stuck inside it. A person locked in a box is a prisoner, 囚 (qiú).
囚 is rarely used alone in modern speech. It appears in compounds like 囚犯 (qiúfàn, prisoner) and 囚禁 (qiújìn, to imprison), which sound fairly formal or literary. Example: 他被囚禁了三年。(Tā bèi qiújìn le sān nián.) He was imprisoned for three years.
Common mistake: Learners confuse 囚 (qiú) with 因 (yīn, because), which has 大 inside the box instead of 人. Look closely: 囚 has only the two strokes of 人 inside, with no horizontal stroke.
Common words with 囚
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
囚 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 囚
Learning 囚 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 囚
How many strokes are in 囚?
囚 is written with 5 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 囚 mean?
囚 (qiú) means prisoner, convict; to confine. A common word with it is 囚犯 (qiúfàn), meaning "prisoner; convict".
How do you pronounce 囚?
囚 is pronounced qiú, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 囚?
The radical of 囚 is 囗, which carries the idea of "enclosure". Dictionaries list 囚 under this radical.
Is 囚 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 囚 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 囚犯 and 犯人?
Both mean prisoner or convict. 犯人 (fànrén) is more common in everyday speech and can also mean a criminal in general, while 囚犯 (qiúfàn) stresses that the person is actually locked up and sounds more formal.
Can 囚 be used as a verb?
Yes, in written or literary Chinese 囚 can mean to confine or imprison, as in 囚于狱中 (qiú yú yù zhōng, imprisoned in jail). In normal modern speech people say 囚禁 (qiújìn) or 关 (guān) instead.