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没收 (mò shōu) — to confiscate, to seize

Definition

没收 is used when authorities (police, customs, school) take away property as a penalty. Stronger and more formal than 扣 (which often means deduct or button up); 扣留 also detains people, 缴 and 征收 extend to taxes/dues.

verb
to confiscateto seize

Examples

  • 没收。
    Jǐng chá mò shōu le suǒ yǒu de zāng kuǎn.
    The police confiscated all the stolen money.
  • 没收。
    Xué xiào guī dìng kě yǐ mò shōu xué shēng de shǒu jī.
    The school has a rule that it can confiscate students' cell phones.
  • 没收。
    Biān jìng jiǎn chá zhàn mò shōu le dà liàng zǒu sī wù pǐn.
    The border checkpoint seized a large quantity of smuggled goods.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

没méitake away
收shōutake in

没 and 收 both involve taking property away, so together they mean to confiscate.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 沒; 没 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠬛
𠬛𠬛沒mò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 沒 pairs 水 (water) with 𠬛 as a sound part; this note is about 沒, not the simplified 没.

Open 没 →

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 7-9Law & Justice

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