Tā bèi guānjìn língyǔ, zhěngzhěng shí nián cái chónghuò zìyóu.
He was thrown into prison and did not regain his freedom for ten whole years.
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One of the oldest words for prison, said to be the name of the Zhou dynasty's jails. It is purely literary and now heard almost only in 身陷囹圄 (to land in prison). Also written 囹圉.
memory
Both characters sit inside 囗, a wall on every side: a prisoner boxed in.
