捉 (zhuō) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

捉

zhuō[zhuo1]Tone 1

to clutch

HSK 6

Guru Deep Dive

English · to clutch

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (hand component) should be slightly narrower and compressed to leave ample room for the right phonetic component (足), ensuring the character remains stable and centered.

1. Meaning

to clutch, to grab, to capture

to catch (a thief, ghost, etc.)to arrestto take hold of

VerbNeutral#action#movement#law enforcement

Sample Usage

警察捉住了小偷。
Jǐngchá zhuō zhù le xiǎotōu.
The police caught the thief.
他被捉去审问。
Tā bèi zhuō qù shěnwèn.
He was arrested and taken in for questioning.

2. Sound

/[ʈʂuo⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

捉

zhuōzhuo1

¯(55)

=zhuō

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Retroflex

Sounds like: j/dr retroflex sound

UnaspiratedRetroflex

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. Tongue curled up. Tissue stays still.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near hard palate

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -o vowel group

Sounds like: wo sounds like in 'woke'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'waw'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady pitch, similar to sustaining a musical note at the top of your vocal range without rising or falling.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the retroflex initial 'zh' with the alveolar dental initial 'z' (zhuō vs zuō).

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A high, flat hand gesture held steadily at eye level, representing the level pitch of Tone 1.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes

4. Components

Radical 扌 · Hand Radical (hand, action done with hands)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 扌 (Indicates actions performed using the hand, such as clutching or grabbing.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 足 (original sound: zú / zhuō phonetic drift)

The character combines the Hand radical (扌) on the left with the Foot/Base component (足) on the right, symbolizing reaching out with your hand to grab and immobilize someone.

扌 Hand action
足 Phonetic and structural component

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

5· Phonetic Root: 足 (jù)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally created as a phono_semantic compound where 扌 (hand) denotes the physical action of grabbing, and 足 provides the sound or structural grounding.

Semantic Evolution: Has consistently retained its core physical meaning of catching, grasping, or arresting throughout historical texts.

Frequently used in classical Chinese literature to describe capturing bandits or mythical demons.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine using your Hand (扌) to grab someone by their Foot (足) to catch them before they run away—that's how you 'clutch' or 'capture' (zhuō) someone!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

捉

zhuōto clutch, to catchBase character with hand radical.

促

cùto urge, promoteUses person radical (亻) instead of hand (扌).

足

zúfoot, sufficientWithout the hand radical on the left.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

桌(zhuō)

桌 has the wood radical (木) on the left because it means 'table', whereas 捉 has the hand radical (扌) because it means 'to catch'.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

警察迅速地[___]住了那个小偷。

Clue: zhuō

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 捉 (zhuō - to catch) with 桌 (zhuō - table) due to identical pronunciation and tone.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 捉, what action does the hand radical imply?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to clutch or capture' (zhuō) using the hand radical?

捉zhuōto clutch

Speed:

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