also: ひとや
General term for a place of confinement; can be used for both modern and historical contexts. The reading ごく is more common, while ひとや is a less frequent alternative reading.
He committed a crime and was put in prison.
He committed a crime and was sent to prison.
An old prison remains in the basement of that castle.
He was confined in prison for many years.
Ten years later, he got out of prison.
Many criminals died in prison.
刑務所 is the standard modern legal term for a prison facility, while 獄 is an older, more literary or generic word for a place of confinement.
監獄 was the formal pre-war legal term for a prison, whereas 獄 is a broader, more literary word that can refer to any place of confinement, historical or modern.
牢屋 is a common, everyday word for a jail cell, especially in historical settings, while 獄 sounds more formal or archaic.
hell realm; Naraka · Hell · hell; misery; nightmare; inferno · volcanic hellscape; steaming wasteland
prison; jail
prison escape; jailbreak · jailbreaking (a device)
imprisonment; incarceration
prison; jail
during imprisonment; while in jail; in prison
purgatory
bribery scandal; graft case
death in prison; death in jail
Standard kanji spelling for the reading ごく.
Rare kanji spelling for the reading ひとや, using characters for 'person' and 'building'.
Rare gikun (irregular kanji usage) spelling for ごく, using characters for 'prisoner' and 'prison'.
The kanji 獄 originally depicts a place of confinement with dogs guarding it, symbolizing a prison. The reading ごく is the on'yomi, while ひとや is a native Japanese reading combining 人 (person) and 屋 (building).
low-ranking prison guard · hell's tormenting devils
roundup; wholesale arrest
imprisonment; being sent to prison
prison gate · decapitation and exposure of the head (Edo-period punishment)
being sent to prison; imprisonment
prison warden
release from prison
jail; prison; punishment
going to hell; falling into hell
trial of a crime; conviction · condemnation to death by beheading
inside a prison; in prison
prison regulations; prison rules
jail warden; jailer