束缚

束縛

shùfù

verb HSK 7-9 #6,557

Meanings

1 to bind; to restrain; to tie down
2 to constrain; to restrict

Characters

to bind; to tie up

to bind; to tie

Both characters mean 'to bind' — together they express both physical and metaphorical restraint.

Examples

不要被传统观念所束缚。

Búyào bèi chuántǒng guānniàn suǒ shùfù.

Don't be constrained by traditional ideas.

她终于摆脱了家庭的束缚。

Tā zhōngyú bǎituō le jiātíng de shùfù.

She finally broke free from the constraints of family.

Tips

usage

束缚 is overwhelmingly used in the metaphorical sense — rules, traditions, expectations, or relationships that hold someone back. Physical binding would more commonly use 捆绑 (kǔnbǎng).

Stroke Order

束 shù

缚 fù