Meaning
収 means to collect, receive, or put things away — and its scope is wide. Money flowing in, crops being bundled at harvest, belongings getting stowed: all of it falls under this one kanji. Day to day, 収入 (income) and 回収 (collection or recovery) are the words you'll meet first.
収 breaks into two parts: 丩 on the left, suggesting two things twisted or bound together, and 又 on the right — a hand, or the idea of repetition. Together, the image is a hand pulling scattered things inward — binding them, bundling them, reeling them in. Harvesting rice, collecting taxes, putting away laundry: the underlying motion is the same every time.
Taught in Grade 6 elementary school, 収 is written in just 4 strokes. Four strokes, yet it turns up across finance, business, media, and home organization. The radical is 又, the "right hand" radical, which often marks kanji tied to deliberate, purposeful action.
収 also reaches into metaphor. 収まる describes a storm dying down, anger fading, a dispute resolving, or an object fitting neatly into a space. That span — from stowing a bag to a conflict finally quieting — gives 収 real depth among N2 kanji.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
シュウ (shuu) is the on'yomi — the dominant reading, found in nearly all compound words across formal, business, and administrative contexts. Pair 収 with another kanji and シュウ is almost always the right call.
- 収入 (shuunyuu) — income, earnings; one of the most essential business vocabulary words
- 収集 (shuushuu) — collecting, gathering; used for hobbies like stamp or coin collecting
- 収容 (shuuyou) — accommodation, containment, capacity; e.g., the seating capacity of a venue
- 収益 (shuueki) — profit, revenue, returns from an investment or business
- 収穫 (shuukaku) — harvest, crop; also used figuratively for the "fruits of one's efforts"
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
The kun'yomi readings are おさ・める (osameru) and おさ・まる (osamaru), used when 収 stands alone as a verb. The split matters: おさめる is transitive — you actively collect, pay, or settle something. おさまる is intransitive — something calms down or falls into place on its own.
- 収める (osameru) — to put away, to pay (fees or taxes), to achieve (a result), to settle (a dispute)
- 収まる (osamaru) — to subside, to fit within a space, to be settled, to calm down
- 税金を収める (zeikin wo osameru) — to pay one's taxes (transitive)
- 風が収まる (kaze ga osamaru) — for the wind to die down (intransitive)
Common Words & Compounds
収 shows up across several domains. Here are the key compounds by theme:
Finance & Income
- 収入 (shuunyuu) — income, earnings, revenue
- 年収 (nenshuu) — annual income; very common in job listings and HR discussions
- 月収 (gesshuu) — monthly income
- 収益 (shuueki) — profit, returns; often used in corporate reports
- 収支 (shuushi) — income and expenditure, financial balance
- 税収 (zeishuu) — tax revenue collected by the government
- 買収 (baishuu) — corporate acquisition or buyout; also means bribery in legal contexts
Storage & Collection
- 収納 (shuunou) — storage, putting things away; extremely common in home organization and interior design
- 収集 (shuushuu) — collecting as a hobby or systematic activity
- 収蔵 (shuuzou) — archival storage, items held in a museum or collection
- 回収 (kaishuu) — collection, recovery, retrieval; used for recycling, debt collection, and product recalls
Media, Science & Other
- 収録 (shuuroku) — recording (for broadcast); inclusion of content in a publication or album
- 収穫 (shuukaku) — harvest; figuratively, what you gained from an experience
- 収束 (shuusoku) — convergence, containment; used for epidemics, conflicts, or mathematical series
- 吸収 (kyuushuu) — absorption; physical (a sponge absorbing water) or figurative (absorbing knowledge)
- 収縮 (shuushuku) — contraction, shrinkage; used for muscles, economies, or materials
Example Sentences
彼女の年収は五百万円だ。
Kanojo no nenshuu wa gohyaku man en da.
Her annual income is 5 million yen.
子供のころから切手を収集している。
Kodomo no koro kara kitte wo shuushuu shite iru.
I have been collecting stamps since I was a child.
荷物は収納スペースにしまってください。
Nimotsu wa shuunou supeesu ni shimatte kudasai.
Please store your luggage in the storage space.
その会社は大手企業に買収された。
Sono kaisha wa ootekigyou ni baishuu sareta.
That company was acquired by a major corporation.
今年の収穫は去年より豊かだった。
Kotoshi no shuukaku wa kyonen yori yutaka datta.
This year's harvest was more abundant than last year's.
感染症の収束にはまだ時間がかかりそうだ。
Kansenshou no shuusoku ni wa mada jikan ga kakarisou da.
It seems it will still take some time for the infectious disease to be contained.
怒りがなかなか収まらなかった。
Ikari ga nakanaka osamara nakatta.
My anger just wouldn't subside.
彼は見事に優勝を収め、チームに貢献した。
Kare wa migoto ni yuushou wo osame, chiimu ni kouken shita.
He brilliantly achieved victory and contributed greatly to the team.
この番組はスタジオで収録されている。
Kono bangumi wa sutajio de shuuroku sarete iru.
This program is recorded in a studio.
子供の脳は新しい情報を吸収するのがとても早い。
Kodomo no nou wa atarashii jouhou wo kyuushuu suru no ga totemo hayai.
Children's brains are very quick to absorb new information.
Memory Tip
Picture a hand (又) with a lasso, pulling scattered things in from all directions — coins, harvested crops, loose files — bundling them up and locking them away. The left side 丩 looks like two lines twisted and knotted: things bound into one place. When you see 収, picture that hand roping everything in — money landing in a wallet, vegetables tied at harvest, an argument finally dying down. That single image covers income, storage, recording, and a crisis coming under control.