收税 (shōu shuì) — to collect taxes, to levy taxes | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

收税 means the government levies/collects taxes — always used of an authority taking tax from people or businesses, never a person paying it (that's 交税/纳税).

verb

to collect taxesto levy taxes

Examples

收税。
Zhèng fǔ měi nián dōu yào xiàng qǐ yè shōu shuì.
The government collects taxes from businesses every year.
。
Zhè ge guó jiā yǐ jīng shōu le shí nián shuì.
This country has been collecting taxes for ten years.
。
Xīn zhèng cè guī dìng duì gāo shōu rù qún tǐ duō shōu yì xiē shuì.
The new policy stipulates collecting more taxes from high-income groups.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

收shōucollect

收 means collecting, and 税 specifies what is collected: taxes.

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.'

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

禾兑税

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

兑

兑duì税shuì

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

税 pairs 禾, a grain plant, with 兑, which gives the character its sound.

Appears in

Government & Politics

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