虏 (lǔ): to capture; to take prisoner

Meanings

1 to capture; to take prisoner
2 prisoner of war; captive (noun)
3 (archaic, derogatory) northern barbarian

Characters

虏

lǔ

to capture; captive; (archaic) barbarian

Examples

敌军被我方虏获。

Díjūn bèi wǒfāng lǔ huò.

The enemy troops were captured by our side.

她的笑容俘虏了所有人的心。

Tā de xiàoróng fúlǔ le suǒyǒurén de xīn.

Her smile captured everyone's hearts.

Tips

usage

Rarely used solo in modern Chinese. The most common compound is 俘虏 (fúlǔ, 'prisoner of war' / 'to capture'), which carries both literal and figurative senses (capturing hearts, capturing attention). The bare 虏 still appears in classical/literary contexts and historical writing.

history

In imperial-era texts, 虏 was a slur applied by Han Chinese to northern peoples (e.g. 胡虏 'the Hu barbarians'). Its bottom radical 力 'strength' atop 毋 historically depicted a captive bound by rope.

Components

radical

虍 hū

tiger pattern (top of 虎)

Outer tiger-stripe radical — the top portion of 虎 (tiger), written as a downward hook with stripes inside. Indexes 虏 in the predator-and-fierce family with 虎 tiger, 虑 to consider (literally 'tiger thoughts'), 虚 empty. Carries the imagery of fierce capture: a captor descending on prey like a tiger pouncing.

phonetic

力 lì

strength; force

Inner 力 — pictograph of a flexed arm or plough handle, meaning 'strength.' In the simplified 虏 the original middle 毌 (a cord-tied prisoner) of 虜 has been dropped, leaving force directly under the tiger-stripe. Supplies a faint phonetic echo (lì → lǔ) and a clear semantic hook: capturing a prisoner is taking them by force.