監獄|かんごくkangoku[0]heiban (flat)

1. nounprison

• Synonym刑務所けいむしょNeutralThe official term for prisons where sentences are served; 「監獄」 is the old name, still usable for prisons and common in historical or figurative contexts like 「監獄のような職場」.
• Synonym牢獄ろうごくWrittenWritten prose for a place holding criminals, with a grim, literary flavor; 「監獄」 is more of an institutional name.
• Synonym獄舎ごくしゃWrittenWritten word stressing the buildings or cells that hold prisoners; rare. For prisons in general, use 「監獄」 or 「刑務所」.
• Synonym牢屋ろうやNeutralOld-fashioned colloquial word for a jail cell, heard mainly in period dramas and fairy tales; modern prisons are normally called 「刑務所」.
• Synonym牢ろうWrittenSingle-character word for a jail, mostly in compounds like 「牢破り」 or phrases like 「牢に入れる」, with an old-time flavor; today say 「刑務所」.
• Synonym獄屋ごくやWrittenOld-fashioned word for a jail, close to 「牢屋」; rare today. Say 「刑務所」 or 「監獄」 instead.
• Related拘置所こうちしょNeutralHolds people whose sentence is not yet final, including those sentenced in the first trial, plus death-row inmates awaiting execution; sentences are served in 「刑務所」.
• Related獄ごくWrittenWritten single character for prison, mostly in compounds like 「獄中」 and 「投獄」; on its own it is more archaic than 「監獄」.
• Relatedブタ箱ぶたばこCasualCoarse slang, usually for a police lockup but also for jail in general; 「監獄」, the formal old name for prison, has none of this jokey flavor.

Today a prison is officially 「刑務所」; 「監獄」 is the old name, also used in historical and figurative contexts. Unsentenced detainees are held in 「拘置所」, period dramas say 「牢屋」, and slang is 「ブタ箱」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 犯罪はんざいを犯おかした者ものが刑けいに服ふくする場所ばしょ。刑務所けいむしょの旧称きゅうしょう（監獄法かんごくほうにおける呼び名よびな）。