被捕
bèi bǔ · HSK 7
to be arrested
🚔 被 (passive marker) + 捕 (catch) = got caught
被 signals something done TO you, 捕 means to catch or seize. Together: you were caught — arrested. Think of it as the passive voice of capture.
被 — clothes radical 衤 + 皮 (skin/hide)
Originally a semantic-phonetic compound: 衤 (clothing) gives the meaning 'blanket/quilt', while 皮 supplies the sound. From 'covering' it extended to 'cover oneself with', then grammaticalized into the passive marker 'by', its most common modern use.
捕 — hand radical 扌 + 甫 (phonetic)
捕 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 (手) signals an action done with the hand, while 甫 supplies the sound (related to bǔ/fǔ). Together they convey 'to seize' or 'to catch' with the hand, as in capturing a person or animal.