Definitions

zhāi (verb) to pick (flowers, fruit)
zhāi (verb) to take off; to remove (glasses, hat etc)
zhāi (verb) to select; to extract

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

About

The character "摘" is structured as a phono-semantic compound, integrating the hand radical to signify manual action with the phonetic component "啇" to guide pronunciation, and it originally conveyed the concrete act of picking or plucking, such as harvesting fruits or flowers. Over time, its meaning expanded to encompass more abstract applications, including the selection of key passages from texts or the identification of errors in criticism, reflecting a gradual semantic broadening from physical to intellectual realms. This evolution in usage occurred while the character's fundamental construction remained unchanged, with its components continuing to hint at its core association with precise, hand-oriented activity.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

孩子草莓。

hái zi zhāi cǎo méi.

The child picks strawberries.

姐姐在花园花。

jiě jie zài huā yuán zhāi huā.

Elder sister picks flowers in the garden.

录了重要信息。

tā zhāi lù le zhòng yào xìn xī.

He extracted important information.

昨天我们快乐地桃子。

zuó tiān wǒ men kuài lè de zhāi táo zi.

Yesterday we happily picked peaches.

为了做沙拉,她了些蔬菜。

wèi le zuò shā lā, tā zhāi le xiē shū cài.

To make salad, she picked some vegetables.

如果成熟了,就可以下来。

rú guǒ chéng shú le, jiù kě yǐ zhāi xià lái.

If it is ripe, you can pick it.

医生除了他的肿瘤。

yī shēng zhāi chú le tā de zhǒng liú.

The doctor removed his tumor.

从这篇文章中,我抄了几个经典句子。

cóng zhè piān wén zhāng zhōng, wǒ zhāi chāo le jǐ gè jīng diǎn jù zi.

From this article, I copied several classic sentences.