拾 (shè): to ascend in light steps, to pick up, to collate or arrange
拾 (shè) is a Chinese character meaning “to ascend in light steps.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (structural) and 合 (structural). It ranks #1934 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 拾 to gather 合 things in one's hands 扌. Its radical form 扌 (hand) appears in many related characters such as 手 (shǒu, hand), 打 (dǎ, hit, make), 找 (zhǎo, to look for).
Definitions
- to ascend in light steps
- to pick up
- to collate or arrange
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo gather 合 things in one's hands 扌
Decomposition: ⿰扌合 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 拾 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 拾
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 不可收拾 | bù kě shōu shi | (idiom) irremediable |
| 拾掇 | shí duo | to clear up |
| 拾荒 | shí huāng | to glean |
| 众人拾柴火焰高 | zhòng rén shí chái huǒ yàn gāo | lit. when everybody gathers fuel, the flames are higher (proverb) |
| 拾取 | shí qǔ | to pick up |
| 俯拾皆是 | fǔ shí jiē shì | lit. so numerous that one could just bend down and pick them up (idiom) |
| 捡拾 | jiǎn shí | to pick up |
| 拾金不昧 | shí jīn bù mèi | to pick up money and not hide it (idiom) |
| 拾遗 | shí yí | to pocket a lost article |
| 一发不可收拾 | yī fā bù kě shōu shi | once it gets started there's no stopping it |
| 拾级而上 | shè jí ér shàng | to walk slowly up a flight of steps (idiom) |
| 道不拾遗 | dào bù shí yí | lit. no one picks up lost articles in the street (idiom) |
| 路不拾遗 | lù bù shí yí | lit. no one picks up lost articles in the street (idiom) |
| 拾得 | shí dé | to find |
| 拾音器 | shí yīn qì | pickup (electro-acoustic transducer) |
拾 appears in 30 compound words: 53 as the first character, 23 as the last, and 23 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 拾 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
synonym of 路不拾遺 /路不拾遗 (lùbùshíyí, “no one pockets lost property on the road”)
to not pocket the money or other valuables one picks up; to return lost property to its owner
Example Sentences
他拾起袖子，开始认真地打扫房间。
tā shè qǐ xiù zǐ , kāi shǐ rèn zhēn dì dǎ sǎo fáng jiān .
He rolled up his sleeves and began cleaning the room thoroughly.
台湾拾荒老兵赵衍庆91岁病逝 持台积电股票 遗...
tái wān shè huāng lǎo bīng zhào yǎn qìng 9 1 suì bìng shì chí tái jī diàn gǔ piào yí . . .
Zhao Yanqing, a 91-year-old Taiwanese veteran who scavenged for a living, has passed away. He held shares in TSMC, and his estate...
...肌肉“逆转”糖尿病前期!医生:体重管理系拾健康关键
. . . jī ròu nì zhuǎn táng niào bìng qián qī ! yī shēng : tǐ chóng guǎn lǐ xì shè jiàn kāng guān jiàn
...Muscle Can "Reverse" Prediabetes! Doctor: Weight Management Is Key to Good Health
【网海拾贝】美国经济的结构性重构
wǎng hǎi shè bèi měi guó jīng jì de jié gòu xìng chóng gòu
The structural restructuring of the U.S. economy
玻利维亚运钞军机坠毁15死多人伤 民众拾钱遭驱散|有片
bō lì wéi yà yùn chāo jūn jī zhuì huǐ 1 5 sǐ duō rén shāng mín zhòng shè qián zāo qū sàn yǒu piàn
Bolivia's military plane crashed, killing 15 people and injuring many people
...” 曾抗拒照顾、无故生气 失智者靠作画重拾开朗
. . . céng kàng jù zhào gù , wú gù shēng qì shī zhì zhě kào zuò huà chóng shè kāi lǎng
...” People with dementia who resisted care and were angry for no reason regained their cheerfulness by painting
你收拾好东西了没有？
Nǐ shōushi hǎo dōngxi le méiyǒu?
Have you finished packing yet?
他一步一步地拾级而上。
Tā yī bù yī bù de shèjí'érshàng.
He went up the steps slowly.
她经常在饭后收拾桌子。
Tā jīngcháng zài fàn hòu shōushi zhuōzi.
She always clears the table after a meal.
我想在我父母来之前收拾干净屋子。
Wǒ xiǎng zài wǒ fùmǔ lái zhīqián shōushi gānjìng wūzi.
I want to clean the house before my parents come.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 拾 (shè)?
Is 拾 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 拾 with real-time feedback
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