claw, nail, talon
爪 centers on the hard, curved, pointed covering at the end of a finger or toe: a claw, nail, or talon.
爪 is a pictograph of a hand with curved claws or nails. The modern form retains the claw-like shape with a top horizontal stroke and three downward-curving strokes.
The top horizontal stroke is like the back of a hand, and the three downward strokes are the sharp, curved claws extending from it.
For ソウ, imagine a claw scratching a sore spot: sore -> ソウ, and the claw leaves a mark.
nail (e.g. fingernail, toenail); claw; talon; hoof
toothpick
fingernail mark; scratch
fingernail mark; scratch
claw; talon
Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinerea)
cutting a fingernail (or toenail) to the quick; cutting a nail too close
standing on tiptoes
African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis)
artificial fingernail; fake fingernail
cutting one's nails at night (said to cause one to miss the deathbed of one's parents)
lunula; half-moon (of a fingernail)
ingrown toenail
swimming crab (Ovalipes punctatus); sand crab
nail (e.g. fingernail, toenail)
nail removal; declawing
declawing; onychectomy
velvet worm (Onychophora)
cheyletid (any mite of the family Cheyletidae)
penny wise and pound foolish