捉住 (zhuō zhù) — to catch, to capture

Definition

捉住 (zhuōzhù) emphasizes the completion of catching — that someone or something has been successfully seized. A resultative verb: 捉 is the action, 住 marks the resulting held-in-place state.

verb
to catchto capture

Examples

  • 捉住。
    Jǐng chá zhuō zhù le xiǎo tōu.
    The police caught the thief.
  • 捉住。
    Māo zhuō zhù le yì zhī lǎo shǔ.
    The cat caught a mouse.
  • 捉住？
    Nǐ néng zhuō zhù nà tiáo yú ma?
    Can you catch that fish?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

捉zhuōcatch
住zhùsecure

捉 and 住 combine to mean catch and hold, i.e. capture.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
足
足zú捉zhuō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

捉 pairs 扌, the hand form of 手, with 足, which gives the character its sound.

Open 捉 →

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
主
主zhǔ住zhù
Same sound today

住 pairs 亻, the person radical (written fully as 人), with 主, which supplies the sound.

Open 住 →

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