收条 (shōu tiáo) — receipt

Definition

A written acknowledgment that you have received money or goods — a receipt from the recipient side. The everyday, general term; 发票 is the formal tax/official invoice a seller issues.

noun
receipt
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 收条。
    Qǐng gěi wǒ yì zhāng shōu tiáo.
    Please give me a receipt.
  • 收条。
    Tā bǎ shōu tiáo fàng zài qián bāo lǐ le.
    He put the receipt in his wallet.
  • 收条。
    Zhè zhāng shōu tiáo shì jiǎ de.
    This receipt is fake.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

收shōureceive
条tiáoslip/note

收 is receiving, and 条 is a slip; together they picture a slip for something received.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 條; 条 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
攸
攸yōu條tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 條 pairs 木, a small branch or stick, with 攸, which shows a person warned by a hand holding a stick, as a sound part; 条 is a later shortened shape.

Open 条 →

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