捕捞 (bǔ lāo) — to catch or harvest (aquatic animals or plants) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Specialized term for catching or harvesting fish, shrimp, seaweed, and other aquatic animals or plants — used in commercial fishing and marine-resource contexts.

verb

to catch or harvest (aquatic animals or plants)

Examples

捕捞。
Guò dù bǔ lāo huì dǎo zhì hǎi yáng shēng tài shī héng.
Overfishing can lead to an imbalance in the marine ecosystem.
捕捞。
Yú mín men měi tiān chū hǎi bǔ lāo yú xiā.
The fishermen go out to sea every day to catch fish and shrimp.
捕捞。
Zhè zhǒng hǎi zǎo de bǔ lāo jì jié shì xià jì.
The harvesting season for this seaweed is summer.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

捕 means catch and 捞 means scoop or fish up, together they mean to catch aquatic creatures.

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.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 撈; 捞 is its simplified writing.

扌勞撈

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

勞

勞láo撈lāo

Same sound today

The traditional form 撈 has 扌, a hand, and 勞 for sound; the simplified 捞 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

Fish & Aquatic Life

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