漢字Kanji · in Human Body & People
取: take, fetch
Also: take up
耳 and 又 carry the meaning
Oracle bone · Shang Bronze · Zhou Small seal · Qin Today
Oracle bone, bronze and small seal: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Three readings, and the words that use each
シュshu · on'yomi · in compounds
- 取材するしゅざいするgather facts (for publication)
- 取得するしゅとくするacquire
- 搾取するさくしゅするexploit
- 採取するさいしゅするcollect
とるtoru · kun'yomi · on its own
- 取るとるtake
- 書き取るかきとるtake dictation, take down
とりtori · kun'yomi
- 取り組むとりくむtackle
- 取り扱うとりあつかうhandle
Also read とり-, とり, -どり, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Ideogrammic compound (會意)耳 ear + 又 hand
To take the ear of fallen prey, a rite of hunters mentioned in the Rites of Zhou.
Source: Wiktionary, 取 (rev. 94593389), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Ear + hand (又) = in ancient times, the 'ear' was taken as a trophy of capture. Now it means to take or obtain something with your hand.”
Connections
Easy to confuse
The difference, side by sideIn ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · qǔ
Same form: 取 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).
- Simplified
- 取 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 取 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin qǔ most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.