監禁|かんきんkankin[0]heiban (flat)

Common
Definitions
  1. noun, suru verb, transitive verbconfinement; imprisonment; incarceration
    こんな所ところに監禁かんきんされているのはもうごめんだ。↗
    I can't stand being cooped up in this prison!
Conjugation
Dictionary form監禁する(かんきんする)
Polite (masu)監禁します(かんきんします)
Negative (nai)監禁しない(かんきんしない)
polite (masen)監禁しません(かんきんしません)
classical zu / nu監禁せず・監禁せぬ(かんきんせず・かんきんせぬ)
Past (ta)監禁した(かんきんした)
polite (mashita)監禁しました(かんきんしました)
Past negative (nakatta)監禁しなかった(かんきんしなかった)
polite (masen deshita)監禁しませんでした(かんきんしませんでした)
Te form監禁して(かんきんして)
Potential監禁できる(かんきんできる)
Passive監禁される(かんきんされる)
Causative監禁させる(かんきんさせる)
Causative passive監禁させられる(かんきんさせられる)
Conditional (ba)監禁すれば(かんきんすれば)
tara監禁したら(かんきんしたら)
Volitional監禁しよう(かんきんしよう)
polite (mashou)監禁しましょう(かんきんしましょう)
Imperative監禁しろ(かんきんしろ)

Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.

Synonyms & antonyms
  • Synonym拘禁こうきんWrittenWritten register. Holding someone after capture, often suspects or convicts in detention or prison; common in legal contexts. 「監禁」stresses shutting a person in one place.
  • Synonym禁錮きんこFormalFormal legal term: a penalty of imprisonment without forced labour. 「監禁」is the act of confining someone, not the name of a punishment.
  • Synonym禁足きんそくWrittenWritten register: forbidding someone to go out, keeping them indoors or at their quarters, as in temple confinement. Milder than 「監禁」; not necessarily locked up.
  • Synonym拘置こうちFormalFormal legal term: holding suspects, defendants, or convicted persons in custody, as in 「拘置所」. 「監禁」is the general word for confining someone.
  • Synonym収監しゅうかんFormalFormal legal term: sending someone to prison once their sentence is final. 「監禁」is not limited to serving a sentence; it covers confinement generally.
  • Synonym投獄とうごくFormalFormal: throwing someone into prison; the place is limited to jails and prisons. 「監禁」has no such limit — a room or warehouse will do.
  • Synonym閉じ込めるとじこめるNeutralEveryday verb: to shut someone or something in so it cannot get out — people, animals, or objects, as in 「部屋に閉じ込める」. 「監禁」is more written and applies only to people.
  • Synonym幽閉ゆうへいWrittenWritten register: confining someone for a long time in a closed space, with historical or literary overtones, as in 「塔に幽閉」. 「監禁」is the ordinary modern word.
  • Synonym抑留よくりゅうWrittenWritten register: detaining foreign nationals or ships, or holding someone for a short period, as in 「シベリア抑留」. 「監禁」 applies to any person, whatever their nationality.
  • Related収容しゅうようWrittenWritten register: taking people or things into a facility, as in 「収容人数」; covers housing as well as detaining. 「監禁」means specifically depriving someone of freedom.
  • Related束縛そくばくWrittenWritten register: binding someone or restricting their freedom of movement, as in 「束縛を嫌う」; often for abstract restraints. 「監禁」means shutting a person up in a place.
  • Related拘束こうそくNeutralNeutral: physically restraining someone or restricting freedom by rules, as in 「身柄を拘束」. 「監禁」emphasizes confining a person in a place.
  • Related押し込めるおしこめるCasualColloquial verb: to force someone in and keep them from getting out. 「監禁」is a Sino-Japanese noun with a written flavor, typical of news reports and legal texts.
  • Related封じ込めるふうじこめるNeutralVerb: to seal in or shut up, and also to contain a spreading problem, as in 「感染を封じ込める」. 「監禁」applies only to confining people.
  • Antonym解放かいほうNeutralAntonym: freeing someone by removing restraints; opposite of 「監禁」in locking up versus letting out. Also used for social liberation.
  • Antonym釈放しゃくほうFormalFormal antonym: releasing a person in custody, as in 「容疑者を釈放」; opposite of the confinement expressed by 「監禁」.

Use 「監禁」 for confining people somewhere and depriving them of freedom, as in 「監禁罪」. For holding suspects or convicts in custody, say 「拘禁」 or 「拘置」; for sending someone to prison, 「収監」 or 「投獄」. For everyday shutting in of people, animals, or things, 「閉じ込める」 is the natural verb. The opposites are 「解放」 and 「釈放」.

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

Japanese definitions
  1. 自由じゆうを奪うばったうえ、一定いっていの場所ばしょに閉じ込とじこめること。
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also

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