逮 (dǎi) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

逮

dǎi[dai3]Tone 3

to catch; to seize; to capture

HSK 7

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to catch; to seize; to capture

Cached lesson

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Topology:semi-enclosure (semi-enclosed by the walking dash component from the outside-in)

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: Write the inner phonetic component compactly first, then wrap it securely inside the enclosing walking component (⻌) starting with the horizontal and vertical strokes before sweeping down with the final curving tail.

1. Meaning

to catch or capture (commonly used in colloquial expressions like catching thieves or animals)

to overtake or reach in time (literary)

VerbColloquial (primarily used in compound forms like 逮住)Bound morpheme#action#law enforcement#pursuit

Sample Usage

警察逮住了那个小偷。
Jǐngchá dǎi zhù le nà gè xiǎotōu.
The police caught that thief.
别让他给逮着了！
Bié ràng tā gěi dǎizháo le!
Don't let him catch you!

2. Sound

/[taɪ̯²¹⁴]/Tone: 214

逮

dǎidai3

ˇ(214)

=dǎi

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

dai

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "a" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolar

Sounds like: d sound like English 'd' in dog

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No puff of air. Tissue remains still (sounds like English 't' in 'stop').

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip pressed against the alveolar ridge just behind the upper front teeth, releasing cleanly without a puff of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -ai rhymes with 'eye' in English

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

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

Tone

T3 (214)

2 → 1 → 4 (214)

3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 starts in the middle, drops low into the vocal cords, and rises back up, resembling an incredulous English 'Really?' question intonation.

Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, it shifts to a 2nd tone (rising 35) according to standard Mandarin third tone sandhi rules.

👂

Listening trap: Beginners often mistake the 3rd tone (dǎi) for the 4nd tone (dài), failing to make the dipping contour heard clearly.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down sharply from medium pitch to low chest voice, then sweep up high to signal the 3rd tone contour.

3. Writing

Topology: semi-enclosure (semi-enclosed by the walking dash component from the outside-in) · Strokes: 10 strokes

4. Components

Radical ⻌ · Walking Radical (motion, movement, road)

Semantic Clue (形旁): ⻌ (indicates pursuit, movement, or chasing someone on a path)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 隶 (original sound: dài / lì)

A hand or servant (隶) is chased down on the road (⻌), meaning someone is being caught or seized.

⻌ movement/pursuit component
隶 phonetic and semantic base suggesting a subordinate or captive

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

5· Phonetic Root: 隶 (lì)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined the walking enclosure (⻌) representing a path or chase with 隶 (servant/captive), vividly portraying the act of pursuing and capturing a fleeing person.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from a formal literary verb meaning 'to reach, to overtake, or to apprehend' to a highly common colloquial verb meaning 'to catch or seize' in modern spoken Mandarin.

The enclosure component ⻌ (chuò) evolved from ancient depictions of footprints along a track.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You are out for a walk on the road (⻌) when you spot a runaway servant or minion (隶). You lunge forward and CACH / SEIZE (dǎi) them right in their tracks!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

隶

lìservitude, subordinate, clerical scriptPhonetic Core (声旁)

埭

dàidam+ 土 (earth)

棣

dìKerria japonica+ 木 (tree)

隸

+ 柰 (bear)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

待(dài)

待 uses the step radical (彳) meaning to wait, whereas 逮 uses the long walking enclosure (⻌) meaning to catch/pursue.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

那个小偷跑得太快了，警察差点没能___住他。

Clue: dǎi

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 逮 (dǎi, to catch) with 待 (dài, to wait) or forgetting to write the wrapping walking radical (⻌) around the core component.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 逮 with the walking enclosure and 隶, what colloquial action does it denote?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to catch / seize' (dǎi) using the walking radical?

逮dǎito catch; to seize; to capture

Speed:

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