Chinese word

拘留

Pronunciation

Pinyinjū liú

Meaning

  • verbdetain

Example

他昨天因偷手机被拘留了。tā zuó tiān yīn tōu shǒu jī bèi jū liú le

He was detained yesterday for stealing a phone.

Illustration for 拘留 (detain)

More examples

警察依法将他拘留了三天以便调查。jǐng chá yī fǎ jiāng tā jū liú le sān tiān yǐ biàn diào chá

The police detained him for three days in accordance with the law to investigate.

Core concept

Authorities temporarily keep a suspect in custody so the person remains available for investigation or legal action.

Common phrases

  • 被拘留bèi jū liú

    be detained

  • 遭到拘留zāo dào jū liú

    be detained

  • 将其拘留jiāng qí jū liú

    detain him

Similar words

逮捕dài bǔ: Formally arrest a person suspected of a crime and take the person into police custody.
关押guān yā: Keep a person confined in an official place without allowing the person to leave.
羁押jī yā: Hold a person in legal custody while an investigation or trial proceeds.
监禁jiān jìn: Imprison a person for a long period as punishment, taking away the person's freedom.

Definition in Chinese

公安或司法机关为调查或处置嫌疑人而采取的暂时性的扣留措施，使其在一定场所内不能随意离开。gōng ān huò sī fǎ jī guān wèi diào chá huò chǔ zhì xián yí rén ér cái qǔ de zàn shí xìng de kòu liú cuò shī shǐ qí zài yí dìng cháng suǒ nèi bù néng suí yì lí kāi

Word origin

拘 (jū, "restrain") supplies the idea of taking control, and 留 (liú, "keep") supplies the idea of making someone stay, together forming 拘留 (jūliú, "detain").

Usage tips

  • The word marks a serious legal context in Chinese, so it is not a natural choice for harmless situations such as asking a friend to wait or delaying a traveler.

Opposites

Related words

  • 拘留所jū liú suǒdetention centernoun
  • 行政拘留xíng zhèng jū liúadministrative detentionnoun

Word lists with this word