逮捕
dǎibǔ · HSK 7
make an arrest
🚔🤏 DAI-ly Bust-up: dai sounds like daily, bu like bust — a daily bust
逮 (dai, catch) + 捕 (bu, seize). Both characters share the hand radical 扌, reinforcing the physical act of grabbing someone. Think: two hands reaching out to collar a suspect.
逮 — 辶 (walk) + 隶 (catch/reach)
Originally a semantic compound: 隶 depicted a hand grasping an animal's tail, meaning 'to catch up with,' and 辶 (walking) was added to emphasize pursuit. The core sense 'to reach' or 'to capture' developed from this. Later it gained the reading dǎi for colloquial 'catch' and dài for formal 'arrest.'
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.