murrayjames Posted February 17, 2018 at 11:43 PM Report Share Posted February 17, 2018 at 11:43 PM What is the standard pronunciation of 爪 in the clause “不幸的人就倒在他的爪下”? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
歐博思 Posted February 18, 2018 at 02:32 AM Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 at 02:32 AM From looking at GF dictionary in Pleco, it seems zhao is referring to animals' claws, while zhua is referring more generally to animals' feet or metaphorically to the feet of an object. Seems zhua is the safer choice here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomsima Posted February 18, 2018 at 03:04 AM Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 at 03:04 AM In addition I was also under the impression zhao is a literary reading, zhua should be used for oral styles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Publius Posted February 18, 2018 at 03:12 AM Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 at 03:12 AM Yes, the difference is basically one of literary vs colloquial. The OP's quote is from Psalm 10:10. I think zhǎo is more appropriate. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankSe Posted February 26, 2018 at 10:09 AM Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 at 10:09 AM The Contemporary Chinese Dictionary (one that has the most authority over Simplified Chinese) gives clear definitions as the pictures show. For teaching and exams: When read as zhao3, “爪” has three meanings: ①toenails of animals ②feet of birds and beasts ③A family name (u can see "Zhao" with the capital Z). When read as zhua3, “爪” means the same as ② from above, and is often used in the these words: 爪尖儿,爪儿,爪子 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.