監獄(かんごく)

かんごく
noun
prison; jail; penitentiary
1. prison; jail; penitentiary
A facility where convicted criminals are confined as punishment. A somewhat formal or literary word for prison.
監獄(かんごく)に入(い)れられた。
He was thrown into prison.
その犯人(はんにん)は十年間(じゅうねんかん)監獄(かんごく)で過(す)ごした。
The criminal spent ten years in prison.
古(ふる)い監獄(かんごく)が歴史(れきし)博物館(はくぶつかん)として公開(こうかい)されている。
The old prison is open to the public as a history museum.

監獄(かんごく) is a somewhat formal or literary term for prison. In everyday speech, 刑務所(けいむしょ) is far more common.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 監獄(かんごく)に入(い)れる: to put in prison
  • 監獄(かんごく)から出(で)る: to be released from prison
  • 監獄(かんごく)生活(せいかつ): prison life
  • 監獄(かんごく)に収容(しゅうよう)する: to confine in prison

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 刑務所(けいむしょ): prison (standard everyday term)
  • 牢屋(ろうや): jail, dungeon (old-fashioned, dramatic)
  • 拘置所(こうちしょ): detention center (pre-trial)

REGISTER:
Often appears in historical contexts, fiction, and news about prison conditions. Has a heavier, more dramatic tone than 刑務所(けいむしょ). The Japan 監獄法(かんごくほう) (Prison Act) was renamed in 2006.

general
Added 2026.3.8 17:48 · Revised 2026.3.28 19:56
15500/15716_kangoku