About
Composed of the hand radical and the phonetic element 足, the character 捉 exemplifies a phono-semantic construction whose form has persisted without alteration, with the radical consistently signaling manual action and the right component offering sound. Its primary sense of grasping or capturing has remained stable since early records, anchored in the physical act of seizing, though its application has occasionally extended into metaphorical realms, as seen in compounds like 捉弄 which implies a playful entrapment. The etymological foundation in manual action is clear, and the character continues to denote acts of seizing in both literal and figurative contexts, reflecting a continuity in its lexical function across time without substantial semantic deviation.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
小猫捉到了一只老鼠。
我们一起玩捉迷藏吧。
警察捉住了那个小偷。
他在河里捉到了一条鱼。
弟弟喜欢在花园里捉虫子。
不要捉弄你的朋友。
我们需要捕捉更多的市场信息。
科学家正在研究如何捕捉宇宙射线。