收

Core sense: The movement from a scattered or distributed state to a concentrated one.

• Collection and Harvest: Gathering crops (harvest) or the systematic collection of objects.
• Acquisition and Reception: Receiving, accepting, or taking in (e.g., gifts, payments, official communications).
• Administrative/Financial: The collection of taxes or levies.
• Restraint and Control: The abstract "gathering in" of focus, emotions, or impulses; to curb or limit.
• Conclusion: Bringing a process to an end; the resolution or closing of a literary or musical piece.

• Transitive Verb: Primary usage.
• Resultative Complement: When following another verb, it can indicate that the action successfully resulted in the acquisition or securing of the object.

• vs 取 (qǔ): 取 emphasizes the act of taking, fetching, or seizing; 收 emphasizes receiving or collecting what is offered or due.
• vs 納 (nà): 納 implies placing something into a specific container, treasury, or designated space; 收 is the broader act of gathering.
• vs 集 (jí): 集 often refers to the state of being assembled or the assembly itself; 收 focuses on the active process of bringing things together.

• Semantic variant: U+39C3.

• Scribal Caution: Be vigilant regarding 授 (shòu). While semantically opposite (give/bestow vs. receive/collect), they are phonetically close and can be confused in ambiguous manuscripts or through scribal error. Always verify the agent and patient to ensure the direction of the transaction is correct.