Meaning of 牢
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (literary) pen; fold (for livestock)
- prison; jail
- firm; secure; fast
How to use 牢
In modern Chinese 牢 usually means firm or secure, and it often appears in words like 牢记 (láojì) and 牢固 (láogù). It can also follow a verb to show something is fixed tightly. 你要记牢这个电话号码。(Nǐ yào jì láo zhège diànhuà hàomǎ.) You need to remember this phone number firmly.
牢 has a roof 宀 on top and an ox 牛 (niú) underneath. An ox kept under a roof is in a pen, so the character means a fold for animals, and later a prison or something held firmly in place.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 穴 or 冖 on top instead of 宀, or put 半 or 午 underneath instead of 牛. Also keep the second tone: láo, not lǎo like 老.
牢 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
牢 láo · pen · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 牢.
| 牢牢 | láoláo | firmly; safely |
| 牢记 | láojì | to keep in mind; to remember |
| 牢固 | láogù | firm; secure |
| 亡羊补牢 | wángyáng-bǔláo | lit. to mend the pen after sheep are lost (idiom); fig. to act belatedly |
| 坐牢 | zuòláo | to be imprisoned |
| 牢房 | láofáng | jail cell; prison cell |
| 地牢 | dìláo | prison; dungeon |
| 发牢骚 | fāláosāo | to whine; to be grouchy |
| 牢笼 | láolóng | cage; trap (e.g. basket, pit or snare for catching animals) |
| 大牢 | dàláo | prison |
| 监牢 | jiānláo | prison; jail |
| 牢骚 | láosāo | discontent; complaint |
Questions about 牢
What does 牢 mean?
牢 (láo) means "(literary) pen; fold (for livestock); prison; jail" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 牢?
牢 is made of 1 character: 牢 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 牢 an HSK word?
Yes. 牢 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 亡羊补牢 mean and when is it used?
亡羊补牢 (wángyáng-bǔláo) literally means mending the pen after the sheep are lost. It can describe acting too late, but it is also often used positively to say it is still worth fixing a problem after a loss.
What is the difference between 牢牢 and 牢固?
牢牢 (láoláo) is an adverb that goes before a verb, as in 牢牢抓住 (láoláo zhuāzhù), to hold on tightly. 牢固 (láogù) is an adjective describing something solid and secure, such as a building or a friendship.