The kanji 捕 essentially means "to catch," "to seize," or "to capture." It implies the act of taking hold of something, either physically or metaphorically. It suggests the act of apprehending something, whether it be a person, an animal, or even an abstract concept.

・On-yomi (音読み): ホ (ho) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): つかま(える) (tsukama(eru): to catch, to seize), と(る) (to(ru): to catch, to take)

⚫︎ 逮捕 (たいほ) Translation: Arrest ⚫︎ 捕獲 (ほかく) Translation: Capture; seizure ⚫︎ 捕鯨 (ほげい) Translation: Whaling

The kanji 捕 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound character. It is composed of two parts: the 扌 (てhen), which is the radical meaning "hand" or "action related to the hand," and the phonetic component 甫 (ho). The 甫 component provides the sound and hints at the meaning. Originally, 甫 meant "to spread" or "to begin". The combination with the hand radical suggests the action of using one's hand to seize or catch something. This combination created the idea of "to catch."