穑 (sè): to harvest; to gather in grain

Meanings

1 to harvest; to gather in grain
2 farming; husbandry

Characters

穑

sè

to harvest; to reap

Examples

HSK 7-9

种之曰稼，敛之曰穑。

Zhòng zhī yuē jià, liǎn zhī yuē sè.

Sowing is called jia, gathering in the harvest is called se.

HSK 7-9

不稼不穑，哪来粮食？

Bù jià bù sè, nǎ lái liángshí?

If you neither sow nor reap, how can you have grain?

Tips

usage

穑 is the reaping half of 稼穑 (sowing and reaping), a classical word for farm work as a whole. It is literary; modern Chinese uses 收获 for harvesting.

Components

radical

禾 hé

grain; cereal plant

Left is the grain radical 禾, a ripe stalk bending under its head. It firmly ties the character to cereal crops - here the act of gathering them in.

phonetic

啬 sè

sparing; to store up

Right is 啬, which gives the sound sè and is not just phonetic: it pictures grain being stored away in a granary, exactly the careful gathering-in that 穑 names.

Stroke Order

穑 sè

Related Words

收获 shōuhuò HSK 4 #4,435

to harvest / harvest / gains; rewards

采集 cǎijí HSK 7-9 #7,482

to gather / to collect / to harvest

大丰收 dàfēngshōu

bumper harvest / great harvest / (figurative) big success; rich haul

搂 lōu #9,299

to draw toward oneself; to gather up; to rake in / to gather up (one's gown or sleeves) / to grab (money); to extort

收集 shōují HSK 5 #2,590

to gather; to collect / to compile

聚集 jùjí HSK 7-9 #4,956

to gather / to assemble / to congregate

谷 gǔ #3,952

valley / grain / corn

集合 jíhé HSK 4 #3,792

to gather; to assemble / set (in mathematics)

凑 còu HSK 7-9 #5,498

to gather together / to collect / to piece together / to move close to

采访 cǎifǎng HSK 4 #2,799

to interview; to gather news / interview (news)