虏 (lǔ) · to capture; to take prisoner

Meanings

1 to capture; to take prisoner
2 prisoner of war; captive
3 northern barbarian

Characters

虏

lǔ

to capture; captive; barbarian

Examples

HSK 6

敌军被我方虏获。

Díjūn bèi wǒfāng lǔhuò.

The enemy troops were captured by our side.

HSK 7-9

她的笑容俘虏了所有人的心。

Tā de xiàoróng fúlǔ le suǒyǒurén de xīn.

Her smile captured everyone's hearts.

Tips

usage

Rarely used solo in modern Chinese. The most common compound is 俘虏 (fúlǔ, 'prisoner of war' / 'to capture'), which carries both literal and figurative senses (capturing hearts, capturing attention). The bare 虏 still appears in classical/literary contexts and historical writing.

history

In imperial-era texts, 虏 was a slur applied by Han Chinese to northern peoples (e.g. 胡虏 'the Hu barbarians'). Its bottom radical 力 'strength' historically combined with a graph for a captive bound by rope.

Components

radical

虍 hū

tiger pattern (top of 虎)

Outer tiger-stripe radical, the top portion of 虎 (tiger), written as a downward hook with stripes inside. Indexes 虏 in the predator-and-fierce family with 虎 tiger, 虑 to consider, 虚 empty. Carries the imagery of fierce capture: a captor descending on prey like a tiger pouncing.

phonetic

力 lì

strength; force

Inner 力, pictograph of a flexed arm or plough handle, meaning 'strength.' In the simplified 虏 the cord-tied-prisoner element of the traditional 虜 has been dropped, leaving force directly under the tiger-stripe. Supplies a faint phonetic echo (lì → lǔ) and a clear semantic hook: capturing a prisoner is taking them by force.