Usage note
“收集”意思是把东西聚在一起，比如收集邮票或收集石头。
“Shōují” yìsi shì bǎ dōngxi jù zài yīqǐ, bǐrú shōují yóupiào huò shōují shítou.
“收集” means to gather things together, like collecting stamps or collecting stones.
Context note
很多人喜欢收集有趣的东西，比如贴纸、硬币或树叶。
Hěn duō rén xǐhuān shōují yǒuqù de dōngxi, bǐrú tiēzhǐ, yìngbì huò shùyè.
Many people like to collect interesting things, like stickers, coins, or leaves.
5 examples
我收集了很多漂亮的贝壳。
wǒ shōu jí le hěn duō piào liang de bèi ké。
I collected many beautiful seashells.
弟弟喜欢收集小汽车玩具。
dì di xǐ huan shōu jí xiǎo qì chē wán jù。
Little brother likes to collect toy cars.
秋天我们收集各种颜色的树叶。
qiū tiān wǒ men shōu jí gè zhǒng yán sè de shù yè。
In autumn, we collect leaves of various colors.
她收集了五张不同的贴纸。
tā shōu jí le wǔ zhāng bù tóng de tiē zhǐ。
She collected five different stickers.
我们收集空瓶子做手工。
wǒ men shōu jí kōng píng zi zuò shǒu gōng。
We collect empty bottles to do crafts.
5 mini stories
小红收集了很多彩色石头。她把石头放在盒子里。
xiǎo hóng shōu jí le hěn duō cǎi sè shí tou。 tā bǎ shí tou fàng zài hé zi lǐ。
Xiao Hong collected many colorful stones. She put the stones in a box.
小明收集了十张恐龙贴纸。他贴在笔记本上。
xiǎo míng shōu jí le shí zhāng kǒng lóng tiē zhǐ。 tā tiē zài bǐ jì běn shàng。
Xiao Ming collected ten dinosaur stickers. He stuck them on his notebook.
我们收集落叶做书签。书签很漂亮。
wǒ men shōu jí luò yè zuò shū qiān。 shū qiān hěn piào liang。
We collected fallen leaves to make bookmarks. The bookmarks were beautiful.
她收集不同国家的硬币。她有一个小钱包。
tā shōu jí bù tóng guó jiā de yìng bì。 tā yǒu yí gè xiǎo qián bāo。
She collected coins from different countries. She has a small wallet.
弟弟收集了很多羽毛。他想做一把扇子。
dì di shōu jí le hěn duō yǔ máo。 tā xiǎng zuò yì bǎ shàn zi。
Little brother collected many feathers. He wants to make a fan.
Mini dialogue
收集树叶
A
你在做什么？
Nǐ zài zuò shénme?
What are you doing?
B
我在收集漂亮的树叶。
Wǒ zài shōují piàoliang de shùyè.
I am collecting beautiful leaves.
收集邮票
A
你的爱好是什么？
Nǐ de àihào shì shénme?
What is your hobby?
B
我喜欢收集邮票。
Wǒ xǐhuan shōují yóupiào.
I like collecting stamps.
Related words and contrasts
similar
搜集
sōu jí
to gather, to collect
收集 is general collecting; 搜集 implies searching and gathering, often for information.
related
收藏
shōu cáng
to collect (as a hobby)
收藏 is collecting valuable or interesting items as a hobby.
opposite
丢弃
diū qì
to discard
收集 means to collect; 丢弃 means to throw away.