狱

獄
yù
#1,595 most
frequent character
prison

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

狱 shows two dogs guarding a criminal. That picture gave the first meaning, jail or prison. The middle part 讠 is now empty; it was 辛, a tool for marking criminals, later 言, then simplified to 讠.

Drawn as: dogs guarding prisoner

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Homophones

HSK 6
熨yù
reconciled, smooth
玉yù
jade
遇yù
meet, encounter
誉yù
to praise, to acclaim, reputation
御yù
(bound form) imperial, royal

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