擒 (qín) — to capture; to catch; to seize

Definition

verb
to captureto catchto seize

Examples

  • 擒。
    Tā qín zhù le xiǎo tōu.
    He caught the thief.
  • 。
    Shì bīng qín huò le dí rén.
    The soldier captured the enemy.
  • 擒。
    Zhè jiàn shì duì tā lái shuō zhēn shì shǒu dào qín lái.
    This matter is really a piece of cake for him.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
禽
禽qín擒qín
Same sound today

The left part 扌 is a hand, written in full as 手, so the character shows an action done with the hand; the right part 禽 gives its sound.

Appears in

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