Definition
This literary noun literally means 'cage' or 'prison cell', but it is far more common in figurative use to describe any form of confinement—emotional, social, or situational—that traps someone like a cage. You'll see it in formal writing and idioms (e.g., 冲破牢笼 'break free from shackles'). Avoid using it for an actual animal cage; for that, use 笼子.
n.
(literal) cageprison cell(figurative) trapsnareshackles (of a situation, relationship, etc.)
Examples
- 牢笼。Tā yìzhí xiǎng yào zhèngtuō hūnyīn de láo lóng.He has always wanted to break free from the shackles of marriage.
- 牢笼，。Zhè zhǒng zhìdù jiù xiàng wúxíng de láo lóng, shùfù zhe rénmen de sīxiǎng.This kind of system is like an invisible cage, binding people's thoughts.
- 牢笼。Xiǎoshuō zhōng de zhǔjué zhōngyú chōngchū le mìngyùn de láo lóng.The protagonist in the novel finally broke out of the cage of fate.
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