verb HSK 5
Traditional 歸類
guī lèi
to classify · to categorize · to sort into categories

Meaning

归类 means to organize items, concepts, or information into distinct categories or groups based on shared characteristics. It's commonly used in academic, administrative, and everyday contexts when discussing organization and classification systems.

Usage

This is a standard formal-neutral term used in both written and spoken contexts. It frequently appears in academic writing, library science, data management, and everyday organization tasks. Often followed by 为 (wèi) or 成 (chéng) to indicate what something is categorized as.

Examples

  1. 01
    图书馆把所有的书按照主题归类
    Túshūguǎn suǒyǒu de shū ànzhào zhǔtí guī lèi.
    The library classifies all books according to subject.
  2. 02
    我们需要把这些数据归类整理一下。
    Wǒmen xūyào zhèxiē shùjù guī lèi zhěnglǐ yīxià.
    We need to categorize and organize this data.

Characters

Common collocations

  • 归类整理
    guī lèi zhěng
    to categorize and organize
  • 把...归类
    ... guī lèi wèi
    to classify ... as
  • 归类方法
    guī lèi fāng
    classification method
  • 归类标准
    guī lèi biāo zhǔn
    classification criteria

Antonyms

Origin

The word combines 归 (to belong to, to return) with 类 (category), literally meaning 'to belong to a category' or 'to return something to its type.'

Related