收 shōu — to receive; to accept; to collect; in care of (used on address line after name)
请把桌上的书收好。Qǐng bǎ zhuō shàng de shū shōu hǎo.Please put away the books on the desk.
Common words: 收到 (shōu dào)、收入 (shōu rù)、收费 (shōu fèi)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to collect"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to collect", including 收 (shōu), 罗 (luō / luó), 集 (jí), 采 (cǎi / cài). Study pinyin, English meanings…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to collect" covers 4 different Chinese characters — 收 (shōu), 罗 (luō / luó), 集 (jí), 采 (cǎi / cài) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 4 characters do not share a sound — their readings span shōu, luō, luó, jí, cǎi, cài — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 收 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 收 shōuto receive; to accept; to collect; in care of (used on address line after name)Useful words: 收到, 收入
- 罗 luō / luófussy; talkative; subordinate in a gang of bandits; (surname); gauze; to collectUseful words: 罗经, 罗口
- 集 jíto gather; to collect; collected worksUseful words: 集中, 集体
- 采 cǎi / càito pick; to pluck; to collect; to select; to choose; to gatherUseful words: 采取, 采用
Common words for these 4 "to collect" characters
Anchor each of these 4 characters in a word you can picture — start with 收 (shōu) — so "to collect" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
收到shōu dàoto receive收入shōu rùto take in; income; revenue收费shōu fèito charge a fee罗经luó jīngcompass; same as 罗盘罗口luó kǒurib collar; rib top of socks张罗zhāng luoto take care of; to raise money; to attend to (guests, customers etc)集中jí zhōngto concentrate; to centralize; to focus; centralized集体jí tǐcollective (decision); joint (effort); a group; a team集合jí héto gather; to assemble; (math.) set采取cǎi qǔto adopt or carry out (measures, policies, course of action); to take
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 4 ways to say "to collect".
罗 luō / luó — fussy; talkative; subordinate in a gang of bandits; (surname); gauze; to collect
桌上罗列着各种水果。Zhuō shàng luó liè zhe gè zhǒng shuǐ guǒ.Various fruits are spread out on the table.
Common words: 罗经 (luó jīng)、罗口 (luó kǒu)、张罗 (zhāng luo)
集 jí — to gather; to collect; collected works
同学们集合在操场上。Tóng xué men jí hé zài cāo chǎng shàng.The students gathered on the playground.
Common words: 集中 (jí zhōng)、集体 (jí tǐ)、集合 (jí hé)
采 cǎi / cài — to pick; to pluck; to collect; to select; to choose; to gather
周末我们去山上采蘑菇。Zhōu mò wǒ men qù shān shàng cǎi mó gu.At the weekend we went to the mountains to pick mushrooms.
Common words: 采取 (cǎi qǔ)、采用 (cǎi yòng)、采访 (cǎi fǎng)
All 4 characters
Open 收、罗、集 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.