爪子

zhuǎ zi

CL 只 zhǐ 双 shuāng

HSK 3.0 Level 7 Noun Uncommon

Definitions

1. (animal's) claw

Word relationships

Antonyms

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• 手 shǒu 手 shǒu hand 手 is the human hand, opposite to 爪子 which is an animal's claw or paw.: hand

Counterparts

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• 手掌 shǒu zhǎng 手掌 shǒu zhǎng palm 手掌 refers to the palm of a human hand, contrasting with 爪子 which is typically used for animals.: palm

Register variants

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• 爪 zhǎo 爪 zhǎo foot of a bird or animal 爪子 is more colloquial and commonly used in everyday speech, while 爪 appears more in formal or literary contexts, both meaning claw or paw.: foot of a bird or animal

Related words

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• 蹄子 tí zi 蹄子 tí zi hoof 蹄子 means hoof, contrasting with 爪子 which refers to claws or paws.: hoof

Usage notes

Common mistakes

Do not use 爪子 to refer to human hands, even jokingly, unless in very informal contexts; it may sound rude.

Formality

爪子 is colloquial; in formal writing, use 爪 (zhǎo) instead, as in 鹰爪 (yīng zhǎo, eagle's claw).

Example Sentences

1 shown

猫用 爪子 抓沙发。

The cat scratches the sofa with its claws.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 爪子

• 子 子 zǐ: son
• 爪 爪 zhǎo: foot of a bird or animal
• 爪 爪 zhuǎ: (coll.) foot of an animal or bird