The word 抓住 is formed by combining two individual characters, each contributing a core action to create a composite meaning. The first character, 抓, is itself a pictophonetic character where the hand radical (扌) indicates the action of using the hand, and the component 爪 depicts a claw or grasp, together meaning "to grab" or "to seize". The second character, 住, primarily means "to live" or "to stay", derived from a person (亻) next to a pillar (主), suggesting stability and coming to a stop. When these are placed together sequentially, the concept evolves from the initial action of seizing (抓) to the resulting state of securing and holding fast (住), thus forming the complete idea of "to catch hold of" or "to grasp firmly".