采

採
cǎi
#585 most
frequent character
to pick
verb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

采 pictures a hand 爫 plucking leaves from a tree 木. That gave the first meaning, to pluck leaves from a tree. The sense widened to picking or gathering, and then to choosing or selecting.

Drawn as: hand plucking leaves; tree

采 as a component in other characters

meaning2 characters
菜睬
sound4 characters
彩菜踩睬

Ask DeepSeek

Example Sentences

我们去山上采蘑菇。
wǒmen qù shānshàng cǎi mógū 。
We are going to the mountain to pick mushrooms.
他在花园里采花。
tāzài huāyuán lǐ cǎihuā 。
He is picking flowers in the garden.
我喜欢在秋天采果子。
wǒ xǐhuān zài qiūtiān cǎi guǒzǐ 。
I like to pick fruits in autumn.

Same Characters, Different Readings

采cǎi
to pick
采cài
used in 采邑[cai4yi4] and 采地[cai4di4]

Words with similar meanings

收集shōují
to collect
This word is more general and can refer to gathering a variety of items, not limited to picking.
摘zhāi
to pluck
This term often has a connotation of removing something gently, typically used for fruits or flowers.

Homophones

彩cǎi
(bright) color, variety, applause

Words Starting With 采

采取cǎi qǔ
"to adopt or carry out (measures, policies, course of action); to take"
采访cǎi fǎng
to interview; to gather news; to hunt for and collect; to cover
采纳cǎi nà
to accept; to adopt
采购cǎi gòu
to procure (for an enterprise etc); to purchase
采集cǎi jí
to gather; to collect; to harvest

Your word lists

Sign in to add this word to your private lists.