爪 (zhǎo) · claw, talon, paw

Measure Word

一只爪 zhī

Meanings

1 claw
2 talon
3 paw

Characters

爪

zhǎo

claw; talon

Examples

HSK 5

猫用爪子抓了我一下。

Māo yòng zhǎozi zhuā le wǒ yíxià.

The cat scratched me with its claws.

HSK 7-9

老鹰的爪子非常锋利。

Lǎoyīng de zhǎozi fēicháng fēnglì.

The eagle's talons are extremely sharp.

Tips

mistakes

爪 has two pronunciations: zhǎo (claw, talon - used in 爪子) and zhuǎ (colloquial variant, also means claw). In compounds like 爪牙 (claws and teeth; henchman), use zhǎo.

usage

In everyday speech, 爪子 is more common than the bare 爪. 鸡爪 (chicken feet) is a popular Chinese snack.

Components

pictograph

爪 zhǎo

claw; talon

Single self-component - 爪 is its own Kangxi radical, atomic at the standalone level. Oracle-bone form drew a downward-reaching hand with three fingers splayed like talons grasping prey; the modern shape preserves that grip. It heads a small but vivid family: 爬 climb, 抓 seize, 爵 ceremonial cup.

Radical

Claw Kangxi #87

Indexing radical for grasping, scratching, and bird-of-prey actions. Marks characters involving talons, snatching, or downward-reaching hands. As the top-position variant 爫 it sits above many compounds (爱, 受, 采), where it depicts a hand reaching down.

Forms

爪 zhǎo

Default 2 characters

爫 zhuǎ

Top 5 characters