捉

zhuō

扌 + 足

HSK 3.0Level 6

Definitions

zhuō (verb) to catch; to grab; to seize; to capture

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 足 represents the sound.

Semantic: 扌 Phonetic: 足

About

The character 捉 is a phono-semantic compound: the hand radical 扌 on the left signals a manual action, and the component 足 (foot) on the right gives the sound. Its core meaning is to seize, grasp, capture, or arrest with the hands. This covers the literal catching of people, animals, or objects, like capturing a moving target, and the figurative sense of grasping something abstract, such as identifying the crux of a problem.

Etymology Hide

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

小猫捉到了一只老鼠。

Xiǎo māo zhuō dào le yī zhī lǎo shǔ.

The kitten caught a mouse.

我们一起玩捉迷藏吧。

Wǒmen yīqǐ wán zhuō mí cáng ba.

Let's play hide-and-seek together.

警察捉住了那个小偷。

Jǐngchá zhuō zhù le nàgè xiǎo tōu.

The police caught that thief.

他在河里捉到了一条鱼。

Tā zài hé lǐ zhuō dào le yī tiáo yú.

He caught a fish in the river.

弟弟喜欢在花园里捉虫子。

Dìdi xǐhuān zài huāyuán lǐ zhuō chóngzi.

My younger brother likes to catch insects in the garden.

不要捉弄你的朋友。

Bùyào zhuō nòng nǐ de péngyou.

Don't tease your friends.

我们需要捕捉更多的市场信息。

Wǒmen xūyào bǔzhuō gèng duō de shìchǎng xìnxī.

We need to capture more market information.

科学家正在研究如何捕捉宇宙射线。

Kēxuéjiā zhèngzài yánjiū rúhé bǔzhuō yǔzhòu shèxiàn.

Scientists are studying how to capture cosmic rays.

Related Characters

Component: 扌

Component: 足

捉