牢

Tap the pinyin to hear it

(literary) pen; fold (for livestock); prison; jail; firm; secure; fast

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Ideographic compound (会意字)

A stable 宀 where cattle are kept 牛

Components 宀牛

jail · Heisig RSH #1594

house + 牛 cow

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
嘴上无毛，办事不牢	zuǐ shàng wú máo , bàn shì bù láo	see 嘴上沒毛，辦事不牢\|嘴上没毛，办事不牢[zui3 shang4 mei2 mao2 , ban4 shi4 bu4 lao2]
嘴上没毛，办事不牢	zuǐ shàng méi máo , bàn shì bù láo	a youth without facial hair cannot be relied upon (proverb)
牢不可破	láo bù kě pò	(idiom) (usu. of sth abstract: an alliance, a conviction etc) unbreakable; rock-solid
画地为牢	huà dì wéi láo	lit. to be confined within a circle drawn on the ground (idiom); fig. to confine oneself t…
大牢	dà láo	prison
牢子	láo zǐ	jailer (old)
水牢	shuǐ láo	prison cell containing water, in which prisoners are forced to be partly immersed
牢头	láo tóu	jailer (old)
地牢	dì láo	prison; dungeon
吃牢饭	chī láo fàn	(coll.) to serve time in prison; (Tw) (sarcastic) to live off the prison system (getting f…
牢什子	láo shí zi	variant of 勞什子\|劳什子[lao2 shi2 zi5]
牢实	láo shi	solid; strong; firm; secure
嘴牢	zuǐ láo	tight-lipped
太牢	tài láo	(in ancient times) sacrificial animal (cow, sheep or pig)
牢房	láo fáng	jail cell; prison cell
亡羊补牢	wáng yáng bǔ láo	lit. to mend the pen after sheep are lost (idiom); fig. to act belatedly; better late than…
牢记	láo jì	to keep in mind; to remember
记牢	jì láo	to commit to memory
满腹牢骚	mǎn fù láo sāo	lit. belly full of complaints (idiom); discontent; always moaning and complaining
牢友	láo yǒu	inmate; cellmate