Chinese word

捉

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhuō

Meaning

  • verbcatch

Example

他终于捉到了小偷。tā zhōng yú zhuō dào le xiǎo tōu

He finally caught the thief.

Illustration for 捉 (catch)

More examples

渔船在海上捉获了几条大鱼。yú chuán zài hǎi shàng zhuō huò le jǐ tiáo dà yú

The fishing boat caught several big fish at sea.

Core concept

Secure something in hand or under control, then extend that action to holding an opportunity or piece of information firmly.

Common phrases

  • 捉获zhuō huò

    capture

  • 捉住zhuō zhù

    catch

  • 捉迷藏zhuō mí cáng

    play hide-and-seek

Similar words

抓住zhuā zhù: Grasp something securely and not let go.
抓zhuā: Grab something quickly with the hands in casual speech.
捕捉bǔ zhuō: Find and capture a target or information in a technical or formal setting.
逮捕dài bǔ: Take a suspected criminal into custody under the law.

Definition in Chinese

用手或工具抓住或控制人或物，引申为抓住机会或信息等非物理对象。yòng shǒu huò gōng jù zhuā zhù huò kòng zhì rén huò wù yǐn shēn wèi zhuā zhù jī huì huò xìn xī děng fēi wù lǐ duì xiàng

Word origin

捉 (zhuō, "catch") combines 扌 (shǒu, "hand") with 足 (zú, "foot"), with 扌 indicating a hand action and 足 mainly supplying the sound rather than naming a literal foot.

Usage tips

  • For everyday conversation, this verb often sounds more formal than the usual spoken choice for catching a person, especially in reports, descriptions, and formal speech.

Other meanings

  • graspverb
  • captureverb

Opposites

  • 逃脱táo tuōescapeverb

Related words

  • 捉摸zhuō mōfathomverb
  • 捉获zhuō huòcaptureverb

Word lists with this word