掠夺
lüè duó · HSK 7
to plunder
🏴☠️💰 掠 = seize + 夺 = snatch; two grab-words stacked into one act of plunder
Both halves carry a taking-by-force sense: 掠 is to seize or raid, 夺 is to snatch or wrest away. Doubling two near-synonyms hardens the meaning to violent robbery. Sound hook: duó in 夺 rhymes with the abrupt grab it names.
夺 — big 大 + short-tailed bird 隹 + hand 寸
Originally written 奪, showing a hand (寸) seizing a bird (隹) from someone's grasp (大), depicting the act of snatching away. The simplified form 夺 drops the bird component but keeps the meaning of seizing, taking by force, or contending for something.