收拾 (shōu shi) — to tidy up, to put in order, to pack; (colloquial) to fix, to deal with someone (by scolding or punishing)

Definition

收拾 is a colloquial verb covering two ideas: tidying/packing a space, or 'sorting someone out' (scolding/punishing). For just arranging a room, 整理 is more neutral; 修理 is for fixing broken things, not tidying.

verb
to tidy upto put in orderto pack(colloquial) to fixto deal with someone (by scolding or punishing)

Examples

  • 收拾。
    Wǒ bǎ fáng jiān shōu shi gān jìng le.
    I cleaned up the room.
  • 收拾。
    Tā zhèng zài shōu shi dōng xī zhǔn bèi chū mén.
    She is packing her things to go out.
  • 收拾。
    Mā ma shuō tā huí lái zài shōu shi tā.
    Mom said she will deal with him when she comes back.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

收shōugather
拾shípick up

收拾: 收 gather and 拾 pick up work together to mean tidy up or pack.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
丩
丩jiū收shōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

收 uses 攴 to show an action and 丩 as a sound clue; the old meaning was 'to arrest.'

Open 收 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
合
合hé拾shí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拾 uses 扌 for hand and 合 for sound; the whole character means to pick up by hand.

Open 拾 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 4Cleaning & ChoresOrder & Arrangement2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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