verb HSK 6 #6,886

Meanings

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

Examples

Yúmín zài hǎishàng bǔyú.
Fishermen catch fish at sea.
Jǐngfāng dàibǔ le xiányírén.
The police arrested the suspect.
Lièrén zài sēnlín lǐ bǔliè.
Hunters hunt in the forest.
Tā shànyú bǔzhuō xìjié.
She is good at capturing details.

Tips

usage
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
shǒu
hand (radical form)
Left hand-radical (side form of ) — the indexing radical. Anchors in the family of hand-action verbs: (grab), (take), (pounce). The hand is what does the catching.
phonetic
just; only; honorific
Right supplies the sound (fǔ → bǔ, a regular labial alternation in the same phonetic family). Same phonetic appears in bǔ (feed), pǔ (riverbank), pū (spread). Semantically silent — pure sound carrier.

Stroke Order