ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY
接
to receive / to pick up / to connect
jiē
11 strokes · 扌 (hand radical) + 妾 (sound) — hands meeting hands · HSK 2
What 接 is made of
扌 + 妾 = 接
扌hand (side form)
妾concubine
Where 接 comes from
接 is a hand 扌 reaching with 妾 as the sound: contact made. To receive, to catch, to connect — every sense is two things touching.
接 in Chinese culture
接 connects daily life: 接电话 (answer the phone), 接孩子 (pick up the kids — the school-gate ritual), 接人 (meet someone at the station/airport — hospitality demands you 接 arriving guests in person). 接受 is to accept; 直接 is direct. In relay races and group chats alike, 接 is the baton passing hands.
Example
接电话 jiē diànhuà — to answer the phone
我去机场接朋友。
Wǒ qù jīchǎng jiē péngyou.
I'm going to the airport to pick up a friend.
How to remember it
A hand 扌 reaching out to meet — RECEIVE, CONNECT, PICK UP.
Meeting arrivals in person (接机, 'receive at the airport') is near-mandatory Chinese hospitality — no 'just take a taxi'.
Same sound, different tones
Words unlocked by 接
接电话 jiē diànhuà
answer the phone
接受 jiēshòu
to accept
直接 zhíjiē
direct
Related characters
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