Definition

1. Verb:
   • To imprison, to incarcerate, to put in jail: The act of officially placing someone in a prison or detention facility, typically as a result of a legal judgment or arrest.
   • To throw in jail: A more informal expression for the act of imprisoning someone.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Chính quyền đã quyết định hạ ngục tên tội phạm nguy hiểm đó. (The authorities decided to imprison that dangerous criminal.)
  • Sau phiên tòa, bị cáo bị hạ ngục ngay lập tức. (After the trial, the defendant was thrown in jail immediately.)
  • Không có bằng chứng thuyết phục, cảnh sát không thể hạ ngục anh ta. (Without convincing evidence, the police could not incarcerate him.)

Advanced Usage

• "bị hạ ngục": to be imprisoned.
  • Ông ấy bị hạ ngục vì tội tham nhũng. (He was imprisoned for corruption.)
• "quyết định hạ ngục": to decide to imprison.
  • Tòa án đã ra quyết định hạ ngục phạm nhân. (The court issued a decision to incarcerate the convict.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bỏ tù (verb): To put in prison. (A common synonym).
• Giam giữ (verb): To detain, to hold in custody. (Can be a temporary state before formal imprisonment).
• Tù đày (verb/noun): To send into exile/imprisonment; or the state of imprisonment.
• Ngục (noun): Prison, jail. (The word for the facility itself).

Synonyms

• Bỏ tù: to put in prison.
• Giam cầm: to detain, to hold captive.
• Tống giam: to send to jail.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

Note: As a single verb, 'hạ ngục' does not commonly form phrasal verbs. Its meaning is contained within the single term.

Related Idioms

• Vào ngục ra tù: (Literally: To enter jail, to exit prison) To be in and out of prison frequently; a life of repeated crime and imprisonment.
  • Cuộc đời của hắn là một chuỗi dài những lần vào ngục ra tù. (His life was a long series of being in and out of jail.)

1. Throw in jail