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搜集 (sōu jí) — to gather; to collect

Definition

搜集 focuses on actively seeking and gathering scattered things (evidence, stories, data), with a sense of searching them out. 收集 is more neutral 'to collect'; 采集 is for specimens or natural resources.

verb
to gatherto collect

Examples

  • 搜集。
    Jǐng fāng zhèng zài sōu jí zhèng jù.
    The police are gathering evidence.
  • 搜集。
    Tā huā le sān nián shí jiān sōu jí mín jiān gù shi.
    He spent three years collecting folk tales.
  • 搜集。
    Wǒ men xū yào sōu jí gèng duō de shù jù lái zhī chí zhè ge jié lùn.
    We need to collect more data to support this conclusion.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

搜sōusearch
集jígather

搜 and 集 are parallel actions, looking and gathering, together meaning to collect.

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shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
叟
叟sǒu搜sōu
Same sound today

The left 扌 is a hand. The right 叟 gives the sound and originally pictured a hand holding a torch indoors, related to searching.

Open 搜 →

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

集 pairs 隹 (bird) with 木 (tree), showing birds on a tree, hence a gathering.

Open 集 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6

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