收 (shōu) is a Chinese character meaning “to receive”. It is written from 丩 (twining; two lines hooked together) and 攵 (a hand holding a stick; marks an action done to something), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “to receive; to gather in”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
丩 + 攵
Left–right structure
- 丩 twining; two lines hooked together · jiū sound
- 攵 a hand holding a stick; marks an action done to something · pū meaning
Structure from: 说文解字: 收，捕也。从攴，丩聲
Memory aid
丩 is two lines hooked into each other; 攵 is a hand holding a stick — the part that means an action is being done. Hook something, then act on it, and you gather it in: 收.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 收入shōu rùincome; earnings; to take in收 = shōu
- 丰收fēng shōubumper harvest; good harvest收 = shōu
- 收拾shōu shíto tidy up; to put in order收 = shōuspoken asshōu shi
- 收敛shōu liǎnto restrain oneself; to hold back; to converge收 = shōu
- 收获shōu huòharvest; gains; results收 = shōu
Go deeper
All readings
to receive; to gather in
to receive; to accept; to collect; to gather in; to harvest; to put away
把东西接过来、聚拢起来或放好；也指把庄稼收割回来。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 收入shōu rùincome; earnings; to take in收 = shōu
- 丰收fēng shōubumper harvest; good harvest收 = shōu
- 收拾shōu shíto tidy up; to put in order收 = shōuspoken asshōu shi
- 收敛shōu liǎnto restrain oneself; to hold back; to converge收 = shōu
- 收获shōu huòharvest; gains; results收 = shōu
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 收 mean?
收 (shōu) means to receive; to accept; to collect; to gather in; to harvest; to put away.
How do you pronounce 收?
It is pronounced shōu.
What parts is 收 made of?
丩 (twining; two lines hooked together) and 攵 (a hand holding a stick; marks an action done to something), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 收，捕也。从攴，丩聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 收 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 收?
攴. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 收?
Common ones are 收入 and 丰收. The reading of 收 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.