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接收 (jiē shōu) — to receive (a signal, message, or transmission); to admit, to take in (people, e.g. new members or employees); to take over, to expropriate (property, a factory, land)

Definition

接收 spans receiving a signal/message, admitting people, and taking over property — a broader, more institutional 'receive' than 接受 (which is for offers, ideas, facts) and 收 (everyday collecting).

verb
to receive (a signal, message, or transmission)to admitto take in (people, e.g. new members or employees)to take overto expropriate (property, a factory, land)

Examples

  • 接收。
    Zhè tái shōu yīn jī kě yǐ jiē shōu hěn duō pín dào.
    This radio can receive many channels.
  • 接收。
    Xué xiào jīn nián jiē shōu le wǔ shí míng xīn shēng.
    The school admitted fifty new students this year.
  • 接收。
    Zhèng fǔ jué dìng jiē shōu nà jiā dǎo bì de gōng chǎng.
    The government decided to take over that bankrupt factory.

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
收shōutake in

接 and 收 both mean taking in, giving the sense of receiving or taking over.

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 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Abstract Concepts

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