basket · confine

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 籠 has 22 strokes and denotes a basket or remaining enclosed inside something.
• Basic usage: 籠 is read かご, and 籠もる is read こもる.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• What remains inside
  • 部屋に籠もって本を読んだ means stayed in a room and read.
  • 車内に食べ物のにおいが籠もる means the smell of food lingers inside a car.
  • 籠もる also describes odors remaining trapped.