镣 (liào): fetters; leg-irons; shackles

Meanings

1 fetters; leg-irons; shackles

Characters

镣

liào

leg-irons; shackles

Examples

犯人戴着脚镣被带了出去。

Fànrén dài zhe jiǎoliào bèi dài le chūqù.

The prisoner was led out in shackles.

戴着镣铐跳舞也是跳舞。

Dài zhe liàokào tiàowǔ yě shì tiàowǔ.

Dancing in chains still counts as dancing.

Tips

usage

镣 means leg-irons, almost always in 脚镣 (ankle shackles) or 镣铐 (chains and cuffs together). 镣铐 is also a common metaphor for any oppressive restriction.

Components

radical

钅 jīn

metal

The metal radical in its left-side form, from 金. It marks the character as a metal object — here iron shackles. The radical groups 镣 with 锁, 钉, and 铐.

phonetic

尞 liáo

phonetic component

Supplies the sound (liáo close to liào). It works purely as a pronunciation marker; the same element gives 燎 and 寮 their reading.