standard pronunciation of 爪

[murrayjames]

What is the standard pronunciation of 爪 in the clause “不幸的人就倒在他的爪下”?

[歐博思]

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.

[Tomsima]

In addition I was also under the impression zhao is a literary reading, zhua should be used for oral styles

[Publius]

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.

[FrankSe]

 

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