The kanji 拘 generally conveys the idea of "to be restricted," "to be confined," "to hold," or "to detain." It suggests a state of being limited, controlled, or bound, either physically or metaphorically. The core meaning involves an element of constraint or something that holds back.

・On-yomi (音読み): コウ (kou) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): かか（わる） (kaka(waru)) - to be involved, to relate

⚫︎ 拘束（こうそく） Translation: Restraint; confinement; detention ⚫︎ 拘留（こうりゅう） Translation: Detention; custody ⚫︎ 拘泥（こうでい） Translation: Being particular about; sticking to; being fussy about something small

The kanji 拘 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), which means it's a character that combines a semantic component (meaning) and a phonetic component (sound). The semantic component is the 扌 (て、te - hand or hand-related action), which provides the meaning of "to hold" or "to grasp." The phonetic component is 句 (ku), which contributes the sound "kou". Therefore, the character originally depicted the action of holding or binding something with the hand, hence the meanings related to restriction and confinement.