虏 (lǔ): prisoner of war, to capture, to take prisoner
虏 (lǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “prisoner of war.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 虍 (phonetic) and 力 (semantic). It ranks #2391 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 虏 strength. Its radical form 虍 (tiger) appears in many related characters such as 虑 (lǜ, to think over), 虎 (hǔ, tiger), 虚 (xū, emptiness).
Definitions
- prisoner of war
- to capture
- to take prisoner
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 虏 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 俘虏verb | fú lǔ | to take prisoner |
| 亡国虏 | wáng guó lǔ | subjugated people |
| 蒂森克虏伯 | dì sēn kè lǔ bó | ThyssenKrupp |
| 克虏伯proper-noun | kè lǔ bó | Krupp |
| 虏获verb | lǔ huò | capture (people) |
| 捕虏岩 | bǔ lǔ yán | xenolith (geology) |
| 驱除鞑虏 | qū chú dá lǔ | expel the Manchu, revolutionary slogan from around 1900 |
| 臣虏 | chén lǔ | slave |
| 鞑虏noun | dá lǔ | Tartar (derogatory) |
虏 appears in 9 compound words: 11 as the first character, 56 as the last, and 33 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 虏 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
学习虏字需要反复练习,才能写得工整。
xué xí lǔ zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .
Mastering the character "虏" requires repeated practice to write it neatly.
我个人认为最有意思的一尊雕塑,是位于基亚拉蒙蒂博物馆的达契亚人俘虏像。
wǒ gè rén rèn wéi zuì yǒu yì sī de yī zūn diāo sù , shì wèi yú jī yà lā méng dì bó wù guǎn de dá qì yà rén fú lǔ xiàng .
Personally, I think the most interesting sculpture is the statue of a Dacian captive at the Chiarmonti Museum.
然而,随着蒙古铁骑踏破图斯城,沦为俘虏的希塔拉再度孤身一人。
rán ér , suí zhe méng gǔ tiě qí tà pò tú sī chéng , 沦 wéi fú lǔ de xī tǎ lā zài dù gū shēn yī rén .
However, as the Mongol cavalry overran the city of Tus, Hitara, now a prisoner, found herself alone once again.
...-15E飞官疑遭“山洞设局”活捉 伊曝俘虏照却破绽百出...
. . . 1 5 E fēi guān yí zāo shān dòng shè jú huó zhuō yī pù fú lǔ zhào què pò zhàn bǎi chū . . .
...-15E pilot reportedly captured in a "cave ambush"; Iraq releases photos of the captive, but they are riddled with inconsistencies...
壮志饥餐胡虏肉,笑谈渴饮匈奴血。待从头、收拾旧山河,朝天阙。
Zhuàngzhì jī cān hú lǔ ròu, xiàotán kě yǐn Xiōngnú xuè. dài cóngtóu, shōushi jiù shānhé, cháotiān quē.
With lofty aspirations, we long to feast on the flesh of the Hu invaders when hungry, and drink the blood of the Xiongnu enemies with laughter when thirsty. Awaiting the day when we can reclaim the lost lands, and present ourselves at the imperial court.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 力 (strength) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 虏 (lǔ) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 虏 and 和?
How many strokes does 虏 have?
What is the radical of 虏?
What are the components of 虏?
What are common words containing 虏?
What characters sound the same as 虏 (lǔ)?
Is 虏 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 虏 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.