擒

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to capture

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Formation & memory

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Ideographic compound (会意字)

To catch 禽 by hand 扌; 禽 also provides the pronunciation

Components 扌禽

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
手到擒来	shǒu dào qín lái	stretch a hand and grab it (idiom); very easy
擒人节	Qín rén jié	(jocular) Valentine's Day, referring to the rising number of extramarrital affairs being d…
束手就擒	shù shǒu jiù qín	(lit.) to submit to having one's hands tied and being taken prisoner (idiom); (fig.) to su…
欲擒故纵	yù qín gù zòng	In order to capture, one must let loose.; to loosen the reins only to grasp them better
生擒	shēng qín	to capture alive
就擒	jiù qín	to be taken prisoner
擒贼擒王	qín zéi qín wáng	(idiom) to defeat the enemy by capturing their leader
擒获	qín huò	to apprehend; to capture; to seize