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接受 (jiē shòu) — to accept, to receive (an offer, suggestion, fact, etc.)

Definition

Used when agreeing to or coming to terms with something — an offer, suggestion, invitation, or fact. Unlike 接收 (signal/member) or 收 (mail/gather), 接受 is for abstract things you mentally or emotionally take in.

verb
to acceptto receive (an offer, suggestion, fact, etc.)

Examples

  • 接受。
    Wǒ jiē shòu le tā de jiàn yì.
    I accepted his suggestion.
  • 接受。
    Nǐ bì xū jiē shòu zhè ge jié guǒ.
    You must accept this result.
  • 接受。
    Tā jiē shòu le wǒ de yāo qǐng.
    She accepted my invitation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

接jiēreceive
受shòuaccept

接 and 受 both mean taking or receiving, giving the sense of accepting something offered.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
妾
妾qiè接jiē
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 shows a hand, matching the sense of receiving something in the hand, while 妾 gives the character its sound.

Open 接 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

受 possibly combines 爪 and 又 as hands with 舟 as a boat, to show handing something over.

Open 受 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 41000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsAbstract Concepts2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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