Chinese word

收

Pronunciation

Pinyinshōu

Meaning

  • verbreceive

Example

我收了你的信。wǒ shōu le nǐ de xìn

I received your letter.

Illustration for 收 (receive)

More examples

客人付完钱后，店员把钱收进抽屉里。kè rén fù wán qián hòu diàn yuán bǎ qián shōu jìn chōu tì lǐ

After the customer paid, the clerk put the money in the drawer.

Core concept

Moves something from another person's side into one's own hands, place, or control.

Common phrases

  • 收钱shōu qián

    receive money

  • 收下礼物shōu xià lǐ wù

    accept a gift

  • 收起来shōu qǐ lái

    put away

Similar words

收到shōu dào: Showing that an item or message has arrived and been received.
接jiē: Taking an item directly from someone who hands it over.
拿ná: Grasping an item with the hand and holding it.
得到dé dào: Obtaining an item or result through effort or opportunity.

Definition in Chinese

把别人交给自己的东西或信息拿到手里；接受物品、消息或付款。bǎ bié rén jiāo gěi zì jǐ de dōng xī huò xìn xī ná dào shóu lǐ jiē shòu wù pǐn xiāo xī huò fù kuǎn

Word origin

The character 收 (shōu, "receive") originally described gathering or taking something in, and this central idea extended to accepting deliveries, putting objects away, and taking in payments.

Usage tips

  • Chinese can use one everyday verb for accepting an item and putting it away, while English often chooses different verbs for these two situations.

Other meanings

  • put awayverb
  • collectverb
  • collect feesverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word