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俘虏 (fú lǔ) — (verb) to capture, to take prisoner; (noun) captive, prisoner of war

Definition

俘虏 (fúlǔ) is used specifically for capturing or detaining enemy personnel in war. Unlike 捕获 and 俘获 (which apply broadly to catching people, animals, or winning hearts), 俘虏 is restricted to prisoners of war.

verb
to captureto take prisoner
noun
captiveprisoner of war
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 俘虏。
    Tā men fú lǔ le sān gè dí jūn shì bīng.
    They captured three enemy soldiers.
  • 俘虏。
    Nà xiē fú lǔ bèi guān zài zhàn fú yíng lǐ.
    Those captives are locked in the POW camp.
  • ，俘虏。
    Zhàn zhēng jié shù hòu, shuāng fāng jiāo huàn le fú lǔ.
    After the war ended, the two sides exchanged prisoners.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

俘fúcapture
虏lǔenslave

俘 and 虏 both mean capture or enslave, together giving the sense of a captive.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
孚
孚fú俘fú
Same sound today

俘 combines 人 (person) with 孚, the earlier form for “to capture,” to show a captured person.

Open 俘 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 虏 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Military & Defense

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