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監房 (かんぼう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

監かん房ぼう

か

ん

ぼ

う

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

1

noun

prison cell; ward

Refers to a cell or ward in a prison or detention facility.

囚しゅう人じんは監かん房ぼうで静しずかに本ほんを読よんでいた。
The prisoner was quietly reading a book in the cell.
新あたらしい監かん房ぼうは以い前ぜんより少すこし広ひろくなった。
The new cell is a little larger than the previous one.

Written forms

監かん房ぼうUsage100%
Standard kanji spelling for a prison cell.
檻かん房ぼう
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; 監房 is preferred.

Kanji

監oversee, official, govt office
房

tassel, tuft, fringe

檻pen, corral, cell

Similar words

独どく房ぼう
独房 specifically refers to a solitary confinement cell, while 監房 is a general term for any prison cell or ward.
牢ろう屋や
牢屋 is a more colloquial and broader term for jail or prison as a whole, whereas 監房 refers specifically to the cell itself.

Etymology

Compound of 監 (かん, 'watch, oversee') and 房 (ぼう, 'chamber, room'), literally 'watch chamber'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the spelling is conventionally associated with a prison cell.