verb #22,020

Meanings

  1. 1 to restrain
  2. 2 to bind
  3. 3 to detain

Examples

HSK 7-9
Tā bù shòu rènhé jībàn, zìyóuzìzài de shēnghuó.
He lives free and unrestrained, bound by nothing.
HSK 7-9
Zhè pǐ mǎ bèi jī zài mǎjiù lǐ.
This horse was tethered in the stable.

Tips

register
is a classical/literary character rarely used alone in modern speech. It appears in compounds like 羁绊 (fetters/bonds) and the common phrase 不羁 (unrestrained/uninhibited).

Components

radical
wǎng
net (horizontal form)
Net radical on top is the indexing radical - pictures a hunting or fishing net seen flat. In the net traps the horse below, giving the literal scene of a horse caught in a snare. From that capture image generalised to 'detain, restrain, bind'.
semantic
leather; hide
Lower-left shows leather - the material of the bridle and halter. pictures an animal hide stretched flat for tanning. Together with the horse below, the bottom half writes 'leather + horse', i.e. tackling a horse with leather gear, the practical means of restraint.
semantic
horse
Lower-right is the horse caught under the net and bridled with leather. The whole 17-stroke character is essentially a frozen tableau: 'horse + leather + net' = restraint. From that vivid image also gained the figurative sense of being tied down, unable to wander - 羁绊 'fetter, encumbrance'.

Stroke Order