拘捕 (jū bǔ) — to arrest (by legal authority) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

拘捕 (jūbǔ) is a formal/legal verb meaning 'to arrest' — used in official and judicial contexts, more formal than everyday 抓 (to catch/grab).

verb

to arrest (by legal authority)

Examples

拘捕。
Jǐng fāng yǐ yī fǎ jū bǔ le fàn zuì xián yí rén.
The police have arrested the criminal suspect according to law.
拘捕。
Tā zài jī chǎng bèi hǎi guān jū bǔ.
He was arrested by customs at the airport.
拘捕，。
Fǎ guān qiān fā jū bǔ lìng hòu, lì jí zhí xíng.
After the judge issued an arrest warrant, it was executed immediately.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

拘jūdetain

拘 means detain, 捕 means catch; together they denote arrest.

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.

扌句拘

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

句

句jù拘jū

Same sound today

The left part of 拘 is 扌, the hand form written in full as 手; the right part 句 gives the sound jù.

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

扌甫捕

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

甫

甫fǔ捕bǔ

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

捕 uses 扌 (a hand, from 手) to show catching, and 甫 for the sound.

Appears in

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.