捕

bǔ
verb HSK 6 #6,886

Meanings

  1. 1 to catch; to capture; to seize
  2. 2 to arrest

Examples

HSK 6
Tā shànyú bǔzhuō xìjié.
She is good at capturing details.
HSK 7-9
Yúmín zài hǎishàng bǔyú.
Fishermen catch fish at sea.
HSK 7-9
Jǐngfāng dàibǔ le xiányírén.
The police arrested the suspect.

Tips

usage
捕 is mostly used in compounds: 捕鱼 (fish), 捕猎 (hunt), 逮捕 (arrest), 捕捉 (capture/catch). The figurative 捕捉 can mean capturing moments, details, or opportunities. 捕风捉影 = to chase shadows (making accusations without evidence).

Components

radical
扌 shǒu
hand (radical form)
Left hand-radical 扌 (side form of 手) - the indexing radical. Anchors 捕 in the family of hand-action verbs: 抓 (grab), 拿 (take), 扑 (pounce). The hand is what does the catching.
phonetic
甫 fǔ
just; only; honorific
Right 甫 supplies the sound (fǔ → bǔ, a regular labial alternation in the same phonetic family). Same phonetic appears in 哺 (feed), 浦 (riverbank), 铺 (spread). Semantically silent - pure sound carrier.

Stroke Order

捕 bǔ