爪

2 readings · tap one to hear it

(coll.) foot of an animal or bird; (coll.) foot supporting a cooking pot etc

Sound it out + + = · + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Pictograph (象形字)

A bird's talons

Components 丨 ? unknown part

claw · Heisig RSH #663

drag — as a component also called: vulture

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

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

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
爪字头	zhǎo zì tóu	Chinese character component 爫, used in 受, 妥, 乳 etc
八爪鱼	bā zhuǎ yú	octopus
爪子	zhuǎ zi	(animal's) claw
张牙舞爪	zhāng yá wǔ zhǎo	to bare fangs and brandish claws (idiom); to make threatening gestures
爪儿	zhuǎ r	paws (of small animal); foot of a utensil; stupid person
爪机	zhuǎ jī	(Internet slang) mobile phone
利爪	lì zhǎo	sharp claw; talon
爪尖儿	zhuǎ jiān r	pig's trotters
虎爪派	hǔ zhuǎ pài	Fu Jow Pai (Tiger Claw Style), a southern Chinese martial art emphasizing tiger-claw techn…
鹰爪翻子拳	yīng zhuǎ fān zi quán	Ying Zhua Fan Zi Quan - "Eagle Claw" - Martial Art
脚爪	jiǎo zhǎo	paw; claw
鸡爪	jī zhuǎ	chicken foot
毒爪	dú zhuǎ	forcipules (the venomous pair of pincer-like appendages of a centipede)
爪印	zhǎo yìn	paw print
东鳞西爪	dōng lín xī zhǎo	lit. a dragon's scale from the east and a dragon's claw from the west; odds and ends (idio…
飞鸿雪爪	fēi hóng xuě zhǎo	see 雪泥鴻爪\|雪泥鸿爪[xue3 ni2 hong2 zhao3]
冰爪	bīng zhuǎ	crampon
一鳞半爪	yī lín bàn zhǎo	lit. one scale and half a claw (idiom); fig. only odd bits and pieces
去爪	qù zhuǎ	to declaw (a cat etc); (food preparation) to remove claws, pincer legs or similar hard tip…
爪牙	zhǎo yá	pawn; lackey; accomplice (in crime); collaborator; henchman; claws and teeth

These characters use 爪 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
爪 sound part	zhuǎ	claws, nails, talons
笊	zhào	bamboo ladle, bamboo skimmer