====== huishou: 回收 - Recycle, Recall, Recover ======
===== Quick Summary =====
  * **Keywords:** huishou, 回收, recycle in Chinese, how to say recycle in Chinese, product recall, data recovery, Chinese for recycle bin, waste management in China, HSK 4 vocabulary
  * **Summary:** Learn the versatile Chinese word **回收 (huíshōu)**, which means much more than just "recycle." This page breaks down how **回收 (huíshōu)** is used for everything from recycling bottles and product recalls by companies to recovering deleted computer files in the "Recycle Bin" (回收站). Understand its cultural significance in modern China's push for environmentalism and its practical use in daily conversation.
===== Core Meaning =====
  * **Pinyin (with tone marks):** huí shōu
  * **Part of Speech:** Verb
  * **HSK Level:** HSK 4
  * **Concise Definition:** To collect something to be reused, reprocessed, or returned; to recycle, recall, or recover.
  * **In a Nutshell:** **回收 (huíshōu)** is the action of "taking something back" for a specific purpose. While its most common meaning is "to recycle" waste materials, it broadly covers any systematic process of retrieving items, from faulty products a company needs to recall, to lost data on a hard drive, to capital from an investment. It implies a formal or organized collection process.
===== Character Breakdown =====
  * **回 (huí):** To return, to go back. The character originally depicted a spiral or whirlpool, symbolizing the act of turning, circling, or returning to a starting point.
  * **收 (shōu):** To receive, to collect, to gather. This character combines components that suggest an action (攵, a hand with a tool) of gathering or taking control of something (⺙).
  * Together, **回收 (huíshōu)** literally means "to return-collect" or "to gather back." This combination perfectly captures the idea of bringing materials or items back into a system for processing, whether it's a recycling plant, a company's warehouse, or a computer's memory.
===== Cultural Context and Significance =====
In China, **回收 (huíshōu)** is a concept deeply embedded in both the economy and daily life, though its manifestation differs from many Western countries. For decades, recycling wasn't primarily a top-down, government-led environmental initiative, but a grassroots, economic one. You would commonly see elderly "aunties" (阿姨, āyí) and "uncles" (叔叔, shūshu) collecting cardboard, plastic bottles, and scrap metal from neighborhoods to sell to local recycling depots. This informal economy is a visible and crucial part of the **回收** ecosystem.
This contrasts with the often more formalized, municipally-run "blue bin" systems in North America or Europe, where recycling is seen more as a civic duty. However, in recent years, China has been undergoing a massive cultural shift. Major cities like Shanghai and Beijing have implemented strict mandatory trash sorting laws (垃圾分类, lājī fēnlèi), pushing the concept of **回收** into the formal, government-regulated sphere. This reflects a growing national consciousness around environmental protection (环保, huánbǎo), moving the value of **回收** from a purely economic incentive to a shared social responsibility.
===== Practical Usage in Modern China =====
**回收 (huíshōu)** is a highly practical and common word used across various modern contexts.
  * **Environmental Recycling:** This is the most common usage. It refers to recycling household and industrial waste.
    * e.g., 回收垃圾 (huíshōu lājī) - to recycle trash
    * e.g., 回收旧电池 (huíshōu jiù diànchí) - to recycle old batteries
  * **Technology & Data:** In the digital world, **回收** means to recover or retrieve.
    * The "Recycle Bin" on a Windows computer is called **回收站 (huíshōu zhàn)**.
    * It can also refer to data recovery: 回收已删除的文件 (huíshōu yǐ shānchú de wénjiàn) - to recover deleted files.
  * **Business & Commerce:** Companies use **回收** when they need to recall a product or recover funds.
    * e.g., 公司决定回收所有有问题的产品。(Gōngsī juédìng huíshōu suǒyǒu yǒu wèntí de chǎnpǐn.) - The company decided to recall all problematic products.
    * e.g., 回收投资 (huíshōu tóuzī) - to recoup an investment.
The connotation is generally neutral and technical. It describes a process rather than expressing a strong emotion. It's used in both formal announcements and everyday conversation.
===== Example Sentences =====
  * **Example 1:**
    * 请把这些塑料瓶**回收**一下。
    * Pinyin: Qǐng bǎ zhèxiē sùliào píng **huíshōu** yīxià.
    * English: Please recycle these plastic bottles.
    * Analysis: A common, everyday request. The structure "把 + Object + Verb" is used to show disposal or handling of the object.
  * **Example 2:**
    * 我不小心把文件删了，幸好还在**回收**站里。
    * Pinyin: Wǒ bù xiǎoxīn bǎ wénjiàn shān le, xìnghǎo hái zài **huíshōu** zhàn lǐ.
    * English: I accidentally deleted the file, but luckily it's still in the Recycle Bin.
    * Analysis: This shows the technological use of the term. **回收站 (huíshōu zhàn)** is the standard name for the Recycle Bin on computers in China.
  * **Example 3:**
    * 这家汽车公司正在**回收**十万辆有安全隐患的汽车。
    * Pinyin: Zhè jiā qìchē gōngsī zhèngzài **huíshōu** shí wàn liàng yǒu ānquán yǐnhuàn de qìchē.
    * English: This car company is recalling 100,000 vehicles with a safety hazard.
    * Analysis: This demonstrates the "product recall" meaning, often seen in news or official announcements.
  * **Example 4:**
    * 我们小区的门口有一个旧衣服**回收**箱。
    * Pinyin: Wǒmen xiǎoqū de ménkǒu yǒu yī ge jiù yīfu **huíshōu** xiāng.
    * English: There is an old clothes recycling bin at the entrance of our residential community.
    * Analysis: Shows how **回收** is used as an adjective to describe an object's purpose (a "recycling" bin).
  * **Example 5:**
    * 很多老人靠**回收**废品来赚钱。
    * Pinyin: Hěn duō lǎorén kào **huíshōu** fèipǐn lái zhuànqián.
    * English: Many elderly people make money by collecting and recycling scrap materials.
    * Analysis: This sentence reflects the cultural context of the informal recycling economy in China.
  * **Example 6:**
    * 这个项目很难在短期内**回收**成本。
    * Pinyin: Zhè ge xiàngmù hěn nán zài duǎnqī nèi **huíshōu** chéngběn.
    * English: It's difficult for this project to recover its costs in the short term.
    * Analysis: An example of the financial meaning of **回收**, "to recoup" or "recover" funds.
  * **Example 7:**
    * 这种材料是百分之百可**回收**的。
    * Pinyin: Zhè zhǒng cáiliào shì bǎifēnzhībǎi kě **huíshōu** de.
    * English: This material is 100% recyclable.
    * Analysis: Here, **可回收 (kě huíshōu)** means "recyclable," a very common construction using "可 (kě)" to mean "-able".
  * **Example 8:**
    * 政府计划**回收**这片土地用于建设公园。
    * Pinyin: Zhèngfǔ jìhuà **huíshōu** zhè piàn tǔdì yòngyú jiànshè gōngyuán.
    * English: The government plans to reclaim this piece of land to build a park.
    * Analysis: This illustrates a more formal, large-scale meaning: to reclaim or take back possession of something, like land.
  * **Example 9:**
    * 废旧电池应该被单独**回收**，不能和普通垃圾扔在一起。
    * Pinyin: Fèijiù diànchí yīnggāi bèi dāndú **huíshōu**, bù néng hé pǔtōng lājī rēng zài yīqǐ.
    * English: Used batteries should be recycled separately and not thrown away with regular trash.
    * Analysis: This sentence uses the passive voice with **被 (bèi)** and highlights the practical rules of modern recycling initiatives.
  * **Example 10:**
    * 我们的目标是提高资源的**回收**利用率。
    * Pinyin: Wǒmen de mùbiāo shì tígāo zīyuán de **huíshōu** lìyòng lǜ.
    * English: Our goal is to increase the utilization rate of recycled resources.
    * Analysis: In this sentence, **回收** acts as a noun within the phrase **回收利用率 (huíshōu lìyòng lǜ)**, meaning "recycling and utilization rate," a common term in environmental policy.
===== Nuances and Common Mistakes =====
  * **回收 (huíshōu) vs. 收回 (shōuhuí):** This is a common point of confusion.
    * **回收 (huíshōu)** implies a systematic process of collecting things from various sources to be processed, reused, or restored. Think of recycling campaigns, product recalls, or data recovery software. It's often large-scale and impersonal.
    * **收回 (shōuhuí)** means "to take back" something more directly and personally. It's often used for revoking a statement, taking back a promise, or retracting an item you lent someone.
    * **Correct:** 公司**回收**了有问题的产品。(The company **recalled** the faulty products.)
    * **Correct:** 我要**收回**我刚才说的话。(I want to **take back** what I just said.)
    * **Incorrect:** 我要**回收**我刚才说的话。 (This sounds like you are systematically collecting your spoken words for reprocessing, which is nonsensical.)
  * **Not just for "Recycling":** The biggest mistake English speakers make is limiting **回收** to only mean recycling trash. Remember its broader applications in business (recalls, investment recovery) and technology (data recovery, Recycle Bin). The core concept is "systematic retrieval," not just "making old things new."
===== Related Terms and Concepts =====
  * [[垃圾分类]] (lājī fēnlèi) - Trash sorting. A key government policy in modern China directly related to **回收**.
  * [[环保]] (huánbǎo) - Environmental protection. This is the broader social and political context in which **回收** has become increasingly important.
  * [[废物利用]] (fèiwù lìyòng) - Waste utilization. A concept closely related to **回收**, focusing on making use of scrap or waste materials.
  * [[收回]] (shōuhuí) - To take back, withdraw, revoke. A more direct and personal action compared to the systematic process of **回收**.
  * [[回收站]] (huíshōu zhàn) - Literally "recycling station," but most famously known as the "Recycle Bin" on a computer.
  * [[可回收物]] (kě huíshōu wù) - Recyclables; recyclable materials. The category of items that can be collected for **回收**.
  * [[再生]] (zàishēng) - To regenerate, to be reborn. Often used in technical terms like [[再生资源]] (zàishēng zīyuán), meaning "renewable/recyclable resources."
  * [[废品]] (fèipǐn) - Waste products, scrap. The raw materials that are often collected for **回收**.