Chinese word

采

Pronunciation

Pinyincǎi

Meaning

  • verbpick

Example

我们到山上采蓝莓吧。wǒ men dào shān shàng cǎi lán méi ba

Let's go up the mountain to pick blueberries.

Illustration for 采 (pick)

More examples

秋天，果农开始采摘苹果。qiū tiān guǒ nóng kāi shǐ cǎi zhāi píng guǒ

In autumn, fruit farmers begin to pick apples.

Core concept

Something is drawn out from its source, then gathered or taken in for a purpose.

Common phrases

  • 采摘cǎi zhāi

    pick

  • 采样cǎi yàng

    sample

  • 采矿cǎi kuàng

    mine

Similar words

采摘cǎi zhāi: Harvesting fruit, flowers, or similar natural items from where they grow.
采集cǎi jí: Collecting organisms, specimens, materials, or information in an organized way.
收集shōu jí: Collecting things or information so they can be kept and arranged.
采纳cǎi nà: Taking up an opinion, suggestion, or proposal as a basis for action.

Definition in Chinese

用指或简易工具从植物或其他处摘取并收集，也可引申为采纳或取用。yòng zhǐ huò jiǎn yì gōng jù cóng zhí wù huò qí tā chù zhāi qǔ bìng shōu jí yě kě yǐn shēn wèi cǎi nà huò qǔ yòng

Word origin

The early form of 采 (cǎi, "to pick") depicts a hand reaching toward a plant, which gives the word a natural path from physical picking to gathering and accepting something useful.

Usage tips

  • The object after the verb shows what is being obtained, so context separates harvesting a natural item from gathering information or taking up a suggestion.

Other meanings

  • collectverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word