捉迷藏
zhuō mí cáng · HSK 7
to play hide-and-seek
🙈 捉 grab + 迷 lost + 藏 hide = grab the lost hidden one: hide-and-seek
Break it down: 捉 zhuō means to catch or grab, 迷 mí means lost or confused, and 藏 cáng means to hide. Stitched together it is the game where one player catches others who have hidden themselves away.
捉 — hand radical 扌 + foot 足 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: the hand radical 扌 gives the meaning of grasping or seizing, while 足 (foot) supplies the sound. The original sense was to catch or grab with the hand, which extends to modern meanings like 'catch,' 'capture,' or 'seize.'
迷 — 辶 (walk) + 米 (rice/mǐ, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The 辶 component (walking/road) gives the meaning of going astray on a path, while 米 (mǐ) supplies the sound. Originally referring to losing one's way while traveling, it later extended to mean confused, lost, or fascinated/captivated by something.
藏 — grass radical 艹 + 臧 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The grass radical 艹 on top suggests plants or vegetation used for concealment, while 臧 below provides the sound. Originally meant to hide or conceal something in the grass, later extended to mean 'store' or 'collect,' and when read 'zàng' it means a treasury or storehouse.