# 干枯利爪



## Romeo4755

Why do they say that the heart was squeezed by dry claws (干枯利爪)? Why are claws dry? withered (干枯)? This is a meaning a get from my dictionary.
Thank you in advance if you can explain it!


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## zhg

Hello, Romeo4755, these four words “干枯利爪” make no sense to me, and I have no idea regarding what you mean by "the heart was squeezed by dry claws" . Can you please provide us with a context and perhaps explain a bit more.


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## retrogradedwithwind

利爪 sharp claws
干枯利爪 withered sharp claws

I think you read this phrase from a web fiction. Many writers use it perhaps because they deem a powerful claw looks like an eagle's claw. A man who practise his 爪功（a kind of Kung Fu, by practising which men let their hands imitate claws to attack opponents. ）will have 干枯利爪. And actually in our real life we have a kind of Kung Fu called 鹰爪功（鹰爪拳）.


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## albert_laosong

I have never seen such an expression. Better provide the original context so we can see if it's idiomatic.


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## Romeo4755

I am sorry if I wrote it wrong!
This is not about kong-fu, this is about emotions (when a heart feels like it is squeezed and tormented wit claws). Here are the examples of full sentences:
好似有一只干枯利爪，穿进诸葛明的胸膛，狠狠地捏住他的心脏
...
好似有一只干枯利爪狠狠地抓挠诸葛明殊的心脏，毫不留情地攥紧挤压
...
心脏犹如被干枯利爪紧攥


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## gonecar

The three sample sentences are actually saying/describing the same feeling in a figurative manner. 

心脏犹如被干枯利爪紧攥----->feel as if a withered sharp claw were grasping firmly (and digging into) his heart


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## retrogradedwithwind

The sentences like 心脏犹如被干枯利爪紧攥 appears in 玄幻小说 a lot. In my opinion the reason why the author uses this metaphor is that that kind of sentences are very popular.


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## Romeo4755

gonecar said:


> The three sample sentences are actually saying/describing the same feeling in a figurative manner.
> 
> 心脏犹如被干枯利爪紧攥----->feel as if a withered sharp claw were grasping firmly (and digging into) his heart


Yes! Exactly! So my question is what is a withered claw? How can a claw be withered? Do Chinese consider a scratch form a dry claw be more painful than that of a wet claw?
Or maybe it is the author's own metaphor like 'a dead, ghostly paw with claws'


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## gonecar

Romeo4755 said:


> Or maybe it is the author's own metaphor like 'a dead, ghostly paw with claws'


Yeah, I think you got it.
Just so you know, 干枯利爪 is not idiomatic as a combined word.


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## retrogradedwithwind

An eagle's claw is of course more 干枯 than a human being's hand.

干枯 means that there's much less flesh and blood in an eagle's claw than a man's hand. Lacking flesh and blood is 干. Nothing to do with wet.

Just imagine that A man practises 爪功 very hard so that his hands become 干枯, just like an eagle's claws.


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## albert_laosong

So this is not a fixed expression, but it's ok to use like that in that kind of context. it's just used to describe a sharp claw that's shrunken and wizened.


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## Romeo4755

Thank you all very much for your kind explanations! I ve been searching a lot and I understood that its' not a set metaphor or something. But I didn't understand the meaning though. Now I do.


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## ovaltine888

I don't think it is well written. I feel many online writers of 玄幻小说 don't have a good foundation in writing.

The description 干枯 does not really match the 利爪, and in some way it is contradictory--干枯 carrying a sense of weakness and fragility, how could it be used to describe 利爪 (sharp claw)?

I think that's why it doesn't sound right.

If I wrote, I would choose to separate the description of the withered fingers and the sharp claw to create a contrast.

那骨节嶙峋手指像是枯萎扭曲的树枝，然而在手指末端长而尖利的指甲在月色下闪着寒光，仿佛是可以撕碎任何东西的利爪。


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## ovaltine888

retrogradedwithwind said:


> An eagle's claw is of course more 干枯 than a human being's hand.
> 
> 干枯 means that there's much less flesh and blood in an eagle's claw than a man's hand. Lacking flesh and blood is 干. Nothing to do with wet.
> 
> Just imagine that A man practises 爪功 very hard so that his hands become 干枯, just like an eagle's claws.


But I doubt anybody would use 干枯 to describe an eagle's claw. It does not sound right.


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## retrogradedwithwind

ovaltine888 said:


> But I doubt anybody would use 干枯 to describe an eagle's claw. It does not sound right.


Maybe it is not well written, but the word 干枯 is used to describe men's hands that lack flesh and blood. Those hands, from a zombie or trained a lot, are very solid and sharp IN a fictional world.


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## ovaltine888

retrogradedwithwind said:


> Maybe it is not well written, but the word 干枯 is used to describe men's hands that lack flesh and blood. Those hands, from a zombie or trained a lot, are very solid and sharp IN a fictional world.


Yes, you can say 干枯的手指，but I don't think 干枯的利爪 works.
干枯 matches neither（锋）利 nor 爪.


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## retrogradedwithwind

ovaltine888 said:


> 干枯 matches neither（锋）利 nor 爪.


Errr.. in a fictional world it could be solid, sharp and wizened at the same time...


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## albert_laosong

The sharp claws can grow on a hand or paw that's wizened. 
In English, there is the division of claws and paws, while in Chinese 爪子 mostly refers to the paw =claw + hand
So there should be no problem with 干枯利爪 itself.


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## ovaltine888

albert_laosong said:


> The sharp claws can grow on a hand or paw that's wizened.
> In English, there is the division of claws and paws, while in Chinese 爪子 mostly refers to the paw =claw + hand
> So there should be no problem with 干枯利爪 itself.



It is true that the 爪 can refer to both. But apparently, the adjectives 干枯 (for the finger part) and 利 (for the nail/claw part) are describing different parts. It is confusing to see both in front one word 爪.


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## Romeo4755

I cannot guarantee quality of the writing but this is one of two most popular web-novelists with novels transformed into comics and such. She uses a lot of poetic, historical and folklore background and the text is abundant in beautifully structured scenes which I as a philologist appreciate. As a non-Chinese speaking philologist though. 
So maybe there's some cultural foundation for the expression being discussed.
Or maybe not! I only know that the author is not a graphomaniac teen.


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## SuperXW

Romeo4755 said:


> So my question is what is a withered claw? How can a claw be withered? Do Chinese consider a scratch form a dry claw be more painful than that of a wet claw?
> Or maybe it is the author's own metaphor like 'a dead, ghostly paw with claws'


Of course it can...
Think of the hand or claw of a zombie, or Death...
It may not be more painful, but is more scary.
And yes. It is the author's own metaphor like 'a dead, ghostly paw with claws.


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## Romeo4755

SuperXW said:


> Of course it can...
> Think of the hand or claw of a zombie, or Death...
> It may not be more painful, but is more scary.
> And yes. It is the author's own metaphor like 'a dead, ghostly paw with claws.
> View attachment 66031View attachment 66032


Thank you!


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