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捕食 (bǔ shí) — to prey on, to catch and feed on

Definition

捕食 (bǔ shí) is specifically 'to prey on' — a predator catching and feeding on another animal (e.g. owls preying on mice). 捕 and 捕捉 are neutral 'to catch' and can apply to anything; 捕食 is restricted to one animal eating another.

verb
to prey onto catch and feed on

Examples

  • 捕食。
    Māo tóu yīng zài yè jiān bǔ shí lǎo shǔ.
    Owls prey on mice at night.
  • 捕食。
    Zhè zhǒng yú zhǔ yào bǔ shí xiǎo yú hé xiā.
    This kind of fish mainly preys on small fish and shrimp.
  • 捕食。
    Shī zi zài cǎo yuán shàng bǔ shí líng yáng.
    Lions prey on antelopes on the grassland.

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bǔcatch
食shíeat

捕 and 食 both express catching and eating, together meaning to prey on.

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.

Open 捕 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 亼亼jímouth
  • 皀皀jía bowl of rice on a stand

The form behind 食 shows 亼, a mouth, together with 皀, a bowl of rice on a stand. In modern 食, the bowl part has changed shape.

Open 食 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Animals & MammalsBiology

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