TSUMUGU · B2 (est.) · 字
牢
牢 ＝ 宀 ＋ 牛
ㄌㄠˊ · láo
noun/adj — a pen, fold; firm, secure; prison
字源 FORM — what the parts do
宀形a roof, the enclosing pen drawn over it
An ox (牛) shut under a roofed enclosure (宀) — the fold where livestock is held. From a pen that holds fast come the senses "firm, secure" and the prison that locks a person in: 牢固、坐牢、亡羊補牢.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
牛（牛）關進圈裡，欄門一閂，跑不掉——牢。
The ox (牛) penned in, the gate barred, no way out — a fold that holds.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)牛牢、羊牢— pen, fold for livestock常用
→牢固— firm, secure
⇒坐牢、牢獄— prison, jail
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
牧＝ ＋ 攵mùthe kin — 牧 drives the ox out to graze with a hand 攵; 牢 shuts it in the pen宀miánthe roof here — the enclosure that holds the ox in