收

• Pinyin: shōu
• Hanzi breakdown: 收 = 丩 (twisted/gather) + 攵 (strike/action), meaning 'to collect or gather together'

Meaning

To collect; to gather; to put away. To bring things together or store them.

A versatile verb with several related meanings: to collect (收作业 collect homework), to put away (收衣服 bring in laundry), to receive (收信 receive mail), and to harvest (收割). Often combined with directional complements like 收起来 (put away) and 收进来 (bring in).

Examples

1. 今天要收作业。 Today we need to collect homework.
2. 请帮我把衣服收进来。 Please help me bring the clothes in.
3. 下雨了，快收衣服！ It's raining, bring the laundry in quickly!

Usage Guide

Context: household, school, daily tasks

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 老师每天都收作业。(The teacher collects homework every day.)
• 天气不好，快把东西收起来。(The weather is bad, put things away quickly.)

Don't Say

• 不要把收和接混淆 (Don't confuse 收 and 接 — 收 means to collect, gather, or take in, while 接 means to receive someone in person or to catch something)

Origin & History

Originally composed of 丩 (twisted/gather) + 攵 (strike/action), depicting the action of gathering things together.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal