收 (shōu): to receive, to accept, to collect
收 (shōu) is a Chinese character meaning “to receive.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 丩 (phonetic) and 攵 (semantic). It ranks #351 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 收 hand. Its radical form 攵 (rap) appears in many related characters such as 放 (fàng, to put, to release), 教 (jiào, (bound form) to teach), 改 (gǎi, to change).
Definitions
- to receive
- to accept
- to collect
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 收 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 收
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 收到verb | shōu dào | to receive | 3 |
| 收拾verb | shōu shi | to put in order | 4 |
| 收集verb | shōu jí | to gather | 5 |
| 收入verb/noun | shōu rù | to take in | 4 |
| 收看verb | shōu kàn | to watch (a TV program) | 5 |
| 收藏verb | shōu cáng | to collect (works of art, dolls, antiques etc) | 6 |
| 收获verb/noun | shōu huò | variant of 收穫|收获[shou1 huo4] | 5 |
| 接收verb | jiē shōu | reception (of transmitted signal) | 5 |
| 吸收verb | xī shōu | to absorb | 5 |
| 回收verb | huí shōu | to recycle | 5 |
| 收费verb | shōu fèi | to charge a fee | 4 |
| 收购verb | shōu gòu | to buy | 6 |
| 收益noun | shōu yì | earnings | 6 |
| 收听verb | shōu tīng | to listen to (a radio broadcast) | 4 |
| 收取verb | shōu qǔ | to receive | 6 |
| 丰收verb | fēng shōu | to reap a bumper harvest | 6 |
| 招收verb | zhāo shōu | to hire | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 收回 | shōu huí | to regain |
| 收养 | shōu yǎng | to take in and care for (an elderly person, a dog etc) |
| 没收 | mò shōu | to confiscate |
| 收据 | shōu jù | receipt |
| 收买 | shōu mǎi | to purchase |
| 收场 | shōu chǎng | the end |
| 收留 | shōu liú | to offer shelter |
| 收缩 | shōu suō | to pull back |
| 收银 | shōu yín | to receive payment |
| 收工 | shōu gōng | to stop work for the day (generally of laborers) |
| 收敛 | shōu liǎn | to dwindle |
| 税收 | shuì shōu | taxation |
| 收押 | shōu yā | in custody |
| 收尾 | shōu wěi | to wind up |
| 签收 | qiān shōu | to sign to acknowledge receipt of sth (e.g. a delivery or document) |
收 appears in 100 compound words: 78 as the first character, 22 as the last, and 0 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 收 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (17)
to provide a stable crop, regardless of drought or flood; to bring a stable income
indescribably beautiful; too many beautiful things to be fully appreciated all at once
Showing 12 of 17 idioms containing 收.
Example Sentences
收到你的来信，我非常高兴。
Shōudào nǐ de láixìn, wǒ fēicháng gāoxìng.
I was very happy to receive your letter.
联合国:收到伊朗来信 对地区紧张局势深表关切
lián gě guó : shōu dào yī lǎng lái xìn duì dì qū jǐn zhāng jú shì shēn biǎo guān qiē
United Nations: Received a letter from Iran expressing deep concern about regional tensions
...门做年夜饭的“95后”女生:回应春节当月收入..
. . . mén zuò nián yè fàn de hòu nǚ shēng huí yīng chūn jié dāng yuè shōu rù . .
... Door to do the New Year's Eve dinner of the "95" girls: response to the Chinese New Year when the monthly income...
2025年收获满满,山东信息职业技术学院向合作单位....
nián shōu huò mǎn mǎn , shān dōng xìn xī zhí yè jì shù xué yuàn xiàng gě zuò shàn wèi . . . .
2025 harvest full, Shandong Information Vocational Technology College to the cooperative unit ....
...丨空间站的年夜饭都有什么?听航天员报菜名收祝福
. . . 丨 kōng jiān zhàn de nián yè fàn dū yǒu shén má ? yǐn háng tiān yuán bào cài míng shōu zhù fú
What's on the menu for the space station's New Year's Eve dinner? Listen as astronauts list the dishes and send their blessings.
子弟兵给您送祝福啦,快来签收!
zǐ dì bīng gěi nín sòng zhù fú lā , kuài lái qiān shōu !
Our troops are sending you blessings—come sign for them!
为什么这个月房东还不来收房租？
Wèishénme zhège yuè fángdōng hái bù lái shōu fángzū?
Why hasn't the landlord come to collect rent this month?
你每天都在家听收音机吗？
Nǐ měitiān dōu zài jiā tīng shōuyīnjī ma?
Do you listen to the radio at home every day?
这台收音机多少钱？
Zhè tái shōuyīnjī duōshao qián?
What's the price of this radio?
收音机太响了。你不能把音量调低一点吗？
Shōuyīnjī tài xiǎng le. Nǐ bù néng bǎ yīnliàng tiáo dī yīdiǎn ma?
The radio is too loud. Can't you turn it down a little?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 收 (shōu) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 收 and 给?
How many strokes does 收 have?
What is the radical of 收?
What are the components of 收?
What are common words containing 收?
What characters sound the same as 收 (shōu)?
Is 收 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 收 with real-time feedback
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