爪

See also: 爫, 瓜, 手, and 寸

爪 U+722A, 爪 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-722A ← 爩 [U+7229] CJK Unified Ideographs 爫 → [U+722B]

⽖ U+2F56, ⽖ KANGXI RADICAL CLAW ← ⽕ [U+2F55] Kangxi Radicals ⽗ → [U+2F57]

⺥ U+2EA5, ⺥ CJK RADICAL PAW TWO ← ⺤ [U+2EA4] CJK Radicals Supplement ⺦ → [U+2EA6]

Translingual

Stroke order

Alternative forms

• 爫 – when used as a top radical

Han character

爪 (Kangxi radical 87, 爪+0, 4 strokes, cangjie input 竹中人 (HLO), four-corner 7223₀, composition ⿸𠂆⿰丨乀)

1. Kangxi radical #87, ⽖.

Derived terms

• Appendix:Chinese radical/爪
• 𫩜, 𢁬, 抓, 沠, 𤜶, 枛, 𤣺, 𥄄, 𮄨, 𧘷, 䖣, 𧠘, 𧦐, 䝖, 𬦦, 𮠜, 釽(𬬲), 𤔗, 𩨢, 𪗢
• 𦧍, 𧠙, 坕, 𦥝, 𫵕, 𦬔, 𢦞, 𪽫, 𮃹, 𤰰, 笊, 𮍕, 𢦼, 𤰲, 𩬐

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 688, character 26
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 19653
• Dae Jaweon: page 1101, character 12
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 2030, character 1
• Unihan data for U+722A

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 爪
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (爪) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
抓	*ʔsruː, *ʔsruːʔ, *ʔsruːs
爪	*ʔsruːʔ
笊	*ʔsruːʔ, *ʔsruːs
找	*ʔsruːʔ

Pictogram (象形) – a hand grabbing from above (in earlier forms from side); compare 手, 寸, 九. Even if it can indicate a claw, actually the pictogram depicts a human hand.

Etymology 1

trad.		爪
simp. #		爪
alternative forms		㕚 ancient

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): zhuǎ, zhǎo (zhua³, zhao³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄓㄨㄚˇ, ㄓㄠˇ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): zao³

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zaau²
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): cháu
• Jin (Wiktionary): zua²
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): liáu / niáu / jiáu / chiáu / cháu

  (Teochew, Peng'im): riao² / riou²

• Wu (Northern, Wugniu): ⁵tsau / ³tsau

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, vernacular)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhuǎ
    • Zhuyin: ㄓㄨㄚˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhuǎ
    • Wade–Giles: chua³
    • Yale: jwǎ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: joa
    • Palladius: чжуа (čžua)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂu̯ä²¹⁴/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhuǎr
    • Zhuyin: ㄓㄨㄚˇㄦ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhuǎr
    • Wade–Giles: chua³-ʼrh
    • Yale: jwǎr
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: joal
    • Palladius: чжуар (čžuar)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂu̯ɑɻ²¹⁴/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, literary)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhǎo
    • Zhuyin: ㄓㄠˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhǎo
    • Wade–Giles: chao³
    • Yale: jǎu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jao
    • Palladius: чжао (čžao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂɑʊ̯²¹⁴/

Note:

• zhuǎ - “claw; claw-like object”.

• (Chengdu)
  • Sichuanese Pinyin: zao³
  • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: zao
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sau⁵³/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: zaau²
    • Yale: jáau
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzaau²
    • Guangdong Romanization: zao²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡saːu̯³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: cháu
    • Hakka Romanization System: zau^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: zau³
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sau̯³¹/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: zua²
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡sua⁵³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: liáu
    • Tâi-lô: liáu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: liao
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /liau⁵⁵⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Taipei, Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: niáu
    • Tâi-lô: niáu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: niao
    • IPA (Taipei, Xiamen): /niãu⁵³/
  • (Hokkien: Kaohsiung, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: jiáu
    • Tâi-lô: jiáu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: jiao
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /d͡ziau⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ziau⁴¹/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chiáu
    • Tâi-lô: tsiáu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: ciao
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /t͡siau⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡siau⁵⁵⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: cháu
    • Tâi-lô: tsáu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zao
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sau⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /t͡sau⁵³/

Note:

• liáu/niáu/jiáu - vernacular (“claw; nail; ”);
• chiáu - vernacular;
• cháu - literary.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: riao² / riou²
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: jiáu / jióu
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /d͡ziau⁵²/, /d͡ziou⁵²/

Note:

• riao2 - Shantou;
• riou2 - Chaozhou.

• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁵tsau
    • MiniDict: tsau^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²tsau
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡sɔ³⁴/
  • (Northern: Suzhou)
    • Wugniu: ³tsau
    • MiniDict: tsau^上
    • Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /t͡sæ⁵¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: tsraewX

Rime
Character	爪
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	莊 (18)
Final (韻)	肴 (90)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	側絞切
Baxter	tsraewX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡ʃˠauX/
Pan Wuyun	/ʈ͡ʂᵚauX/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡ʃauX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʈ͡ʂaɨwX/
Li Rong	/t͡ʃauX/
Wang Li	/t͡ʃauX/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ʈ͡ʂauX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zhǎo
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zaau2

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ts]ˤ<r>uʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ʔsruːʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	爪
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	zhǎo
Middle Chinese	‹ tsræwX ›
Old Chinese	/*[ts]ˁ<r>uʔ/
English	claw
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	爪
Reading #	1/1
No.	17658
Phonetic component	爪
Rime group	幽
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	爪
Old Chinese	/*ʔsruːʔ/

Definitions

爪

1. claw (of animal, bird); talon; paw; nail
2. (Hakka) to grab with claws
3. claw-like object; foot (of an item)
4. (derogatory or humorous) hand (of a person)
5. (Quanzhou and Xiamen Hokkien) nail (of a person)
6. (Xiamen and Zhangzhou Hokkien) bamboo rake or harrow
7. a surname

Usage notes

• 爪 (zhuǎ) ― paws or claws of vertebrates, except for humans, bears, ducks, geese and swans
• 鉗／钳 (qián) ― claws of arthropods (crabs, clawed lobsters, scorpions, etc.)
• 掌 (zhǎng) ― hands, paws or claws of humans (only in compounds), bears, ducks, geese or swans
• 手 (shǒu) ― hands or hooves of humans or swine (only for culinary swine hooves)
• 蹄 (tí) ― hooves

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 爪子 (“claw; paw”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		爪
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		爪子
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	爪子, 爪兒
	Taiwan	爪子
	Harbin	爪子
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	爪子
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	爪子
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	爪兒
	Wanrong	爪子
	Xi'an	爪子, 爪爪兒
	Xining	爪子
	Xuzhou	爪子
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	爪子
	Ürümqi	爪爪子, 爪子
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	爪爪, 爪子
	Wuhan	爪子
	Guiyang	爪爪
	Liuzhou	爪
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	爪子
	Yangzhou	爪子
	Nantong	爪子
	Hefei	爪子
Cantonese	Guangzhou	爪
	Hong Kong	爪
	Yangjiang	爪, 腳爪
Gan	Nanchang	爪子
	Lichuan	爪
	Pingxiang	腳爪
Hakka	Meixian	腳爪, 爪
	Yudu	腳爪
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	爪
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	爪
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	爪
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	爪
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	爪
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	爪
Huizhou	Jixi	腳爪
Jin	Taiyuan	爪爪, 爪子
	Xinzhou	爪子
Northern Min	Jian'ou	跤爪, 爪
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	跤爪
Southern Min	Xiamen	跤爪, 爪, 爪仔
	Quanzhou	跤爪, 爪
	Jinjiang	跤爪
	Zhangzhou	跤爪, 爪
	Chaozhou	爪
	Shantou	爪
	Leizhou	跤爪
	Haikou	跤爪
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	撓, 爪
Wu	Shanghai	腳爪
	Shanghai (Chongming)	腳爪
	Suzhou	腳爪
	Danyang	腳爪
	Hangzhou	腳爪兒
	Ningbo	腳爪
	Wenzhou	腳爪, 爪
	Jinhua	腳鈀
Xiang	Changsha	爪子, 腳爪子
	Loudi	腳爪爪
	Shuangfeng	爪子

Compounds

• 一鱗一爪／一鳞一爪
• 一鱗半爪／一鳞半爪 (yīlínbànzhǎo)
• 八爪魚／八爪鱼 (bāzhuǎyú)
• 冰爪
• 展爪
• 張牙舞爪／张牙舞爪 (zhāngyáwǔzhǎo)
• 心膂爪牙
• 手爪 (shǒuzhuǎ)
• 探爪兒／探爪儿
• 握拳透爪
• 東鱗西爪／东鳞西爪 (dōnglínxīzhuǎ)
• 熊爪
• 熱爪哇／热爪哇 (rèzhǎowā)
• 爪兒／爪儿
• 爪印
• 爪哇 (Zhǎowā)
• 爪哇人 (Zhǎowārén)
• 爪哇國／爪哇国 (Zhǎowāguó)
• 爪哇島／爪哇岛
• 爪哇族
• 爪塔
• 爪士
• 爪子 (zhǎozi)
• 爪字頭／爪字头 (zhǎozìtóu)
• 爪尋／爪寻
• 爪尖兒／爪尖儿
• 爪枯
• 爪牙 (zhǎoyá)
• 爪牙之士
• 爪牙之將／爪牙之将
• 爪牙吏
• 爪牙官
• 爪甲
• 爪甲點金／爪甲点金
• 爪痕
• 爪老
• 爪袖
• 爪角
• 爪蹄類／爪蹄类
• 爪章
• 片鱗半爪／片鳞半爪
• 牙爪
• 犬牙鷹爪／犬牙鹰爪
• 狗爪子
• 祿山之爪／禄山之爪
• 繫爪／系爪
• 能牙利爪 (néngyálìzhǎo)
• 舞爪張牙／舞爪张牙
• 虎爪拳
• 虎爪豆
• 通眉長爪／通眉长爪
• 鉤爪／钩爪
• 鉤爪鋸牙／钩爪锯牙
• 鋸牙鉤爪／锯牙钩爪
• 雞爪／鸡爪
• 雞爪釘／鸡爪钉
• 雪泥鴻爪／雪泥鸿爪
• 飛爪／飞爪
• 飛鴻雪爪／飞鸿雪爪
• 魔爪 (mózhǎo)
• 鱗爪／鳞爪 (línzhǎo)
• 鱉爪／鳖爪
• 鳥爪／鸟爪
• 鳳爪／凤爪 (fèngzhǎo)
• 鴻爪／鸿爪
• 鵰心雁爪／雕心雁爪
• 鷹爪／鹰爪
• 鷹爪功／鹰爪功
• 鷹爪毛兒／鹰爪毛儿
• 龍爪／龙爪
• 龍爪書／龙爪书
• 龍爪槐／龙爪槐

 

Etymology 2

trad.		爪
simp. #		爪
alternative forms		抓

Pronunciation

• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): niàu / liàu / jiàu

---

• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Taipei, Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: niàu
    • Tâi-lô: niàu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: niaux
    • IPA (Xiamen): /niãu²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /niãu¹¹/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: liàu
    • Tâi-lô: liàu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: liaux
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /liau⁴¹/
  • (Hokkien: Kaohsiung, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: jiàu
    • Tâi-lô: jiàu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: jiaux
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ziau²¹/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /d͡ziau²¹/

Definitions

爪

1. (Southern Min) to claw; to scratch (with one's claw or nail)
2. (Quanzhou and Xiamen Hokkien) Classifier for claw or scratch mark.

Compounds

• 爪目
• 爪耙仔
• 爪解
• 爪鼻

 

References

• “爪”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

爪

(Jōyō kanji)

1. nail, claw

Readings

• Go-on: しょう (shō)^{←せう (seu, historical)}
• Kan-on: そう (sō)^{←さう (sau, historical)}
• Kun: つめ (tsume, 爪, Jōyō)、つま (tsuma, 爪, Jōyō ^†)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
爪
つめ Grade: S
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese, in turn from Proto-Japonic *tumay. The standalone form of tsuma below.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) つめ [tsùmé] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [t͡sɨme̞]

Noun

爪(つめ) • (tsume) 

1. nail; claw

Derived terms

• 鷹(たか)の爪(つめ) (taka no tsume)

 

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
爪
つま Grade: S
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese. The root form of tsume above, generally only used in compounds. Cognate with 端 (tsuma, “edge, side of something”) and 妻 (tsuma, “wife”, original sense of “spouse”).

Affix

爪(つま) • (tsuma) 

1. (only in compounds) nail; claw

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 爪(つま)音(おと) (tsumaoto, “the sound of a stringed instrument when plucked with a pick or plectrum; the sound of a horse's hoofbeat”)
• 爪(つま)弾(び)く (tsumabiku, “to pluck with one's fingernail, such as a stringed instrument”)
• 爪(つま)折(お)る (tsumaoru, “to pick or break something off with one's fingernails”)
• 爪(つま)隠(かくし), 爪(つま)隠(かく)し (tsumakakushi, “hiding one's claws; a kind of zōri grass sandal, where the front end extends and folds over the tops of the toes”)
• 爪(つま)先(さき) (tsumasaki, “tiptoe”)
• 摘(つ)まむ (tsumamu, “to pinch; to pick at; to pick something up with the tips of one's fingers”)
• 摘(つ)む (tsumu, “to pick something up with the tips of one's fingers; to snip the tip off of something”)
• 躓(つまず)く (tsumazuku, “to stumble”)
• 爪(つま)楊(よう)枝(じ) (tsuma yōji, “a small toothpick”)

Khitan

Etymology

Distantly related with Proto-Mongolic *ǰaxun (“hundred”), whence Classical Mongolian ᠵᠠᠭᠤᠨ (ǰaɣun) (> Mongolian зуу (zuu) and Daur jau).

Numeral

爪 (jau)

1. hundred (100)

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 爪 (MC tsraewX). Recorded as Middle Korean 조〮 (cwó) (Yale: cwo) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Wikisource

爪 (eumhun 손톱 조 (sontop jo))

1. hanja form^? of 조 (“nail; claw”)

Compounds

Compounds

• 가조 (假爪, gajo)
• 유조류 (有爪類, yujoryu)
• 유조동물 (有爪動物, yujodongmul)

References

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [2]

Vietnamese

Han character

爪: Hán Nôm readings: trảo, trẩu, vuốt, trảu

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.