抓拍 (zhuā pāi) — to take a candid photograph (of); to capture a… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A photography term: to snap a candid, unplanned shot — catching a spontaneous moment rather than staging one. Often pairs with 到 to emphasize successfully capturing the moment.

verb

to take a candid photograph (of)to capture a spontaneous moment with a camera

Examples

抓拍。
Tā xǐ huan zài jiē shàng zhuā pāi lù rén de biǎo qíng.
He likes to take candid shots of pedestrians' expressions on the street.
抓拍。
Shè yǐng shī yòng cháng jiāo jìng tóu zhuā pāi le nà ge shùn jiān.
The photographer captured that moment with a telephoto lens.
抓拍。
Tā zhuā pāi dào le yì zhī xiǎo niǎo fēi guò hú miàn de huà miàn.
She captured a shot of a bird flying over the lake.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

拍pāiphotograph

抓 conveys catching a moment, and 拍 means photograph, so 抓拍 is taking a candid shot.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

爪

爪zhuǎ抓zhuā

Same sound today

抓 is built from 手 (hand) and 爪. The hand part points to actions like grab, catch, or scratch, while 爪 gives the sound.

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

手手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

白

白bái拍pāi

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

拍 puts 手 (hand) beside 白, which gives the pronunciation.

Appears in

Photography & Design

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