prison, jail, hardness
牢 centers on confinement and restraint: a prison or jail that holds someone in, and by extension the hardness or firmness of being tightly secured.
牢 combines 宀 (roof/building) with 牛 (cow), originally depicting an enclosure for livestock. Over time it came to mean any confined space, especially a prison.
Under a roof (宀), a cow (牛) is penned in. Picture a sturdy barn that feels like a jail for the animal—牢 means prison or hardness.
For ロウ, imagine a low, dark prison cell where the cow is kept: low -> ロウ, and the cow is locked up tight.
prison; jail; gaol
prison; jail; gaol
jail; gaol; jailhouse
solid; strong; sturdy; durable; stout
keeping in mind; taking note of; remembering; taking to heart
room for confining criminals or lunatics (Edo period)
locking the barn door after the horse has bolted; doing something too late; mending the pen after the sheep are lost
imprisonment
dungeon; underground prison
dungeon
dungeon; underground prison
firm and solid; stout and durable
jail for women (Edo period)
cave prison; cliffside jail
(punishment by being placed in a) water-filled chamber
life imprisonment
firmly; strongly
head of a prisoners' group (Edo period)
whipping, stone placement, and shrimp-tie bondage (three forms of Edo-period torture)
firm; solid; inflexible; immovable