罗网 (luówǎng): net

Measure Word

一张罗网 zhāng

Zuìfàn zuìzhōng luòrù le fǎlǜ de luówǎng.

The criminal ultimately fell into the net of the law.

Tā gǎnjué zìjǐ bèi yì zhāng wúxíng de luówǎng kùnzhù le.

He felt trapped in an invisible snare.

usage

罗网 is mostly used figuratively in modern Chinese to mean a trap or web of constraints. The idiom 自投罗网 means 'to walk right into the trap'.

memory

罗 (net for catching birds) + 网 (net) = double net. Two nets are harder to escape — hence the meaning of 'inescapable trap'.

罗 luó

网 wǎng