<p>捞 has the sense of purposeful,such as 打捞,捞好处, well, 拿 is just a verb.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-28T13:23:19.377Z
2014-12-30T00:07:32.497Z
2014-12-30T00:07:32.497Z
lqhcpsgbl
<blockquote>
  <p>Is 捞 only used for grabbing something out of liquids？ </p>
</blockquote>

<p>It could also be used metaphorically. You can 捞好处, 捞钱, 捞名声, 捞官职, etc. In this usage, 捞 implies selfishness.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>If you are grabbing something out of the water is there a difference between 捞 and 拿？ </p>
</blockquote>

<p>It's common to see a foreign language having specific words for something that's not so specific in your native tongue. In English you "wage war", but in Latin and other languages you simply "do war". Like "wage" for wars, 捞 is more colloquial when it comes to grabbing from water. </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>（Does 捞 imply a bowl like structure like “Ladel”？）</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Any tool could be possible, a bowl, a fishing net, or even bare hands, as long as it does the job. 捞 doesn't imply anything specific.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-26T00:26:48.910Z
2014-12-26T00:26:48.910Z
Wang Dingwei
<p>So， recently I bumped into the word “捞” － which， as I've seen translated － means “to grab from a liquid。 （Somewhat similar to “ladel") I  thought this looked like a really useful verb, but I wanted to clarify a little. 
Is 捞 only used for grabbing something out of liquids？ 
If you are grabbing something out of the water is there a difference between 捞 and 拿？ （Does 捞 imply a bowl like structure like “Ladel”？） </p>

<vocabulary>
Difference between 捞 and 拿？
# Difference between 捞 and 拿？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-12-25)

So， recently I bumped into the word “捞” － which， as I've seen translated － means “to grab from a liquid。 （Somewhat similar to “ladel") I thought this looked like a really useful verb, but I wanted to clarify a little.
Is 捞 only used for grabbing something out of liquids？
If you are grabbing something out of the water is there a difference between 捞 and 拿？ （Does 捞 imply a bowl like structure like “Ladel”？）

**Tags:** vocabulary

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2014-12-26. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

> Is 捞 only used for grabbing something out of liquids？

It could also be used metaphorically. You can 捞好处, 捞钱, 捞名声, 捞官职, etc. In this usage, 捞 implies selfishness.

> If you are grabbing something out of the water is there a difference between 捞 and 拿？

It's common to see a foreign language having specific words for something that's not so specific in your native tongue. In English you "wage war", but in Latin and other languages you simply "do war". Like "wage" for wars, 捞 is more colloquial when it comes to grabbing from water.

> （Does 捞 imply a bowl like structure like “Ladel”？）

Any tool could be possible, a bowl, a fishing net, or even bare hands, as long as it does the job. 捞 doesn't imply anything specific.


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### Answer by username_1 on 2014-12-28. Score: 0

捞 has the sense of purposeful,such as 打捞,捞好处, well, 拿 is just a verb.


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