领 (lǐng): neck; collar

Meanings

1 neck; collar
2 to lead
3 to receive

Characters

领

lǐng

collar; neck; to lead; to receive

Contains 令 (order) + 页 (head) - the leader who gives orders, also the collar around the neck.

Examples

HSK 3

他领着大家参观了工厂。

Tā lǐng zhe dàjiā cānguān le gōngchǎng.

He led everyone on a tour of the factory.

HSK 3

这件衬衫的领子很好看。

Zhè jiàn chènshān de lǐngzi hěn hǎokàn.

The collar of this shirt looks nice.

HSK 7-9

请到前台领取你的证件。

Qǐng dào qiántái lǐngqǔ nǐ de zhèngjiàn.

Please go to the front desk to collect your documents.

Tips

usage

领 has many meanings: 领子 (collar), 领导 (leader), 领取 (to collect/receive), 领先 (to lead/be ahead). Context determines which meaning.

Components

radical

页 yè

page; head (radical form)

Head/page radical - simplified form of 頁. Originally a pictograph of a person's head in profile. 领 originally meant 'neck' (the part that follows the head), then extended to 'collar', 'to lead', and 'to receive'. Same radical: 颈 neck, 顶 top, 项 nape, 颜 face.

phonetic

令 lìng

order; command

Phonetic - 令 lìng → 领 lǐng (regular tone shift). Also strongly semantic: 'leading / receiving / collar' all relate to authority and command. 令 itself depicts a kneeling person under a roof receiving orders; 领 transfers that authority sense to the head/neck above the body.