How to Write 捕 (bǔ) — Meaning “to catch or hunt”

Picture your hand (扌) grabbing a net that looks like the right side 甫 – the top part is like a handle and the bottom is the net. When you use this hand-net, you can 捕 (catch) fish.

First write 扌: horizontal, vertical hook, lift. Then write 甫: horizontal, vertical, horizontal, horizontal, vertical, dot. A common mistake is forgetting the dot at the bottom of 甫 or making 扌 too wide – keep the left side narrow and the right side balanced.

㧜 is a rare character that does not mean "catch" and has a different right side. 抨 (pēng) means "to attack or criticize," and its right side is 平 (píng), not 甫. So 捕 always relates to catching or hunting, while 抨 is about verbal attack.

捕 appears in words like 捕鱼 (fishing) and 捕捉 (to capture). In coastal China, fishing is a common job, so you will see 捕鱼 on boats and in markets. It is also used in news when police 捕获 (capture) criminals.

Common words containing 捕 include: 捕鱼 (bǔ yú) — Fishing / Catch fish; 捕捉 (bǔ zhuō) — to capture; 捕获 (bǔ huò) — Capture / Catch.