牢獄(ろうごく)

ろうごく
noun
prison; jail; dungeon
lawbuilding
1. prison; jail; dungeon
A place of confinement for prisoners. Often carries a literary or historical tone suggesting harsh conditions.
牢獄(ろうごく)に入(い)れられた。
He was thrown into prison.
政治犯(せいじはん)は暗(くら)い牢獄(ろうごく)で長年(ながねん)過(す)ごした。
The political prisoner spent many years in a dark dungeon.
中世(ちゅうせい)ヨーロッパの城(しろ)には地下(ちか)牢獄(ろうごく)があった。
Medieval European castles had underground dungeons.
2. prison (figurative); confinement
A situation, place, or state that feels oppressively restrictive, like being trapped.
この仕事(しごと)は牢獄(ろうごく)のようだ。
This job feels like a prison.
孤独(こどく)という名(な)の牢獄(ろうごく)に閉(と)じ込(こ)められていた。
I was trapped in a prison called loneliness.
彼(かれ)にとって、あの家(いえ)は牢獄(ろうごく)も同然(どうぜん)だった。
For him, that house was practically a prison.

A literary and formal word for prison, composed of 牢(ろう) (prison cell) and 獄(ごく) (prison; jail). More evocative and dramatic than the everyday word 刑務所(けいむしょ). Frequently appears in historical fiction, literature, and figurative expressions.

Common collocations

Similar words

  • 刑務所(けいむしょ): prison; penitentiary — the standard modern term for a correctional facility
  • 監獄(かんごく): prison; jail — formal and somewhat old-fashioned, but less literary than 牢獄(ろうごく)
  • 牢屋(ろうや): jail cell; prison — slightly more colloquial than 牢獄(ろうごく), evoking a small confined space

Related Words

Compare: 刑務所(けいむしょ) (prison)
Compare: 監獄(かんごく) (prison)
Compare: 牢屋(ろうや) (jail cell)
general
Added 2026.4.28 22:30 · Revised 2026.10.2 9:20
25500/25940_rougoku