Definitions

1. Noun:
   • Prison, jail: A place where people are legally held as punishment for a crime or while awaiting trial. This is the primary and most common meaning.
   • Imprisonment, incarceration (abstract concept): The state or condition of being confined in prison.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Họ đã bị tống vào ngục tù vì tội cướp. (They were sent to prison for robbery.)
  • Hệ thống ngục tù cần được cải cách. (The prison system needs reform.)
  • Án ngục tù chung thân là hình phạt nặng nhất. (A life imprisonment sentence is the heaviest punishment.)

Advanced Usage

• "chế độ ngục tù": prison regime, prison conditions.
  • Chế độ ngục tù khắc nghiệt đã bị lên án. (The harsh prison regime has been condemned.)
• "thoát khỏi ngục tù": to escape from prison; (figuratively) to escape from a confining situation.
  • Anh ấy mơ về ngày được thoát khỏi ngục tù. (He dreams of the day he will escape from prison.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ngục (noun): A more concise, often literary synonym for "ngục tù," meaning prison.
  • Cánh cổng ngục sập lại. (The prison gate slammed shut.)
• Nhà tù (noun): The most common and neutral term for prison or jail.
  • Anh ta bị giam trong nhà tù lớn nhất nước. (He is incarcerated in the largest prison in the country.)
• Trại giam (noun): Detention camp, correctional facility (often implying a larger compound).
• Laо tù (noun): A more formal or severe term for prison, emphasizing punishment.

Synonyms

• Nhà giam: Jail, lockup.
• Trại tù: Prison camp.
• Phòng giam: Cell, detention room.
• Sự giam cầm / Sự giam giữ: Detention, confinement (focus on the act).

Related Phrases

• "bị bỏ tù" / "bị tống ngục": to be imprisoned, to be put in jail.
  • Kẻ giết người đã bị bỏ tù. (The murderer was put in jail.)
• "án tù": prison sentence.
  • Hắn lĩnh án tù 10 năm. (He received a 10-year prison sentence.)
• "cựu tù nhân": ex-convict, former prisoner.

Related Idioms

• "Địa ngục trần gian": A living hell (can be used to describe an extremely harsh prison or situation).
  • Nhà tù đó được mô tả như một địa ngục trần gian. (That prison was described as a living hell.)
• "Tù đày": To exile, to banish; (figuratively) to be trapped in a miserable condition.
  • Cảm giác cô đơn tù đày tâm trí anh. (The feeling of loneliness imprisoned his mind.)

1. Prison