MESSAGES · CONFIRMATION
收到 (Shoudao): Received, Agreed—or Already Done?
Acknowledge the message. Make the next action explicit when it matters.
USE IT NOW
收到，谢谢。
Got it, thank you.
Use this when acknowledging information is all you need to do. If you cannot carry out a request, say so in the same reply; a bare 收到 may leave the sender expecting action.
收到 (shōudào) means “received.” Alone in a chat, it can work like “got it.” After an instruction it may also be understood as accepting the task—but it does not say the task is finished. Read the preceding message and any added action or time, rather than treating the two characters as a status report.
Selected lines use synthetic Mandarin speech, not a human teacher or an authentic recording. Audio sources and limits →
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The situation
A colleague sends a revised file and asks you to check the figures before three. You have received the file but have not checked it. The important distinction is not polite versus rude: it is what you can truthfully confirm.
- Channel
- A short message to a colleague or someone coordinating an ordinary task. Not legal acceptance, a payment confirmation or a workplace policy.
- Useful starting knowledge
- Basic 我/你 sentences, simple times, and the difference between a question and a statement.
Read the exchange
Original teaching simulation · not a real call or message
Colleague
文件发你了，请三点前核对一下数字。
I have sent you the file. Please check the figures before three.
You
文件收到了。我先看一下，再确认能不能三点前完成。
I have the file. I will look at it first, then confirm whether I can finish before three.
Colleague
好，看完告诉我。
Okay, let me know after you have looked at it.
Received what: a message, a file, or a request?
In 文件收到了, the file is what has arrived. That does not establish that it opens, is the latest version, or has been checked. In response to “Meet at the south entrance,” 收到 may be enough to acknowledge the location. In response to “Please send it before three,” the same reply can sound like you will act on the instruction. The previous turn changes the practical expectation.
A useful distinction—not three rigid dictionary meanings.
Receipt, commitment and completion are questions to check, not three secret meanings encoded in 收到. Look for additional wording: 我会… states an intended action; …前 gives a deadline; 核对完了 reports that checking is finished. 收到了 adds 了 to receiving, not to every action mentioned earlier. Do not turn a grammar marker into proof that the whole request is complete.
收到，我会三点前发给你。
Got it. I will send it to you before three.
核对完了，数字没问题。
I have finished checking; the figures are fine.
Is 收到 cold or rude?
The two characters alone cannot establish someone’s attitude. A brief acknowledgement may fit a practical exchange; a personal or emotional message may need a response to its actual content. Adding 谢谢 can express thanks, but does not settle a deadline or promise. Do not diagnose annoyance from a full stop, an emoji or how quickly they replied.
Do you need to reply to their 收到?
If your only goal was to know that information arrived, you can usually end the exchange there. There is no need to build a chain of acknowledgements. Ask another question only if an important detail is still missing: whether they can take the task, which file they received, or when you should expect an update. Acknowledge a clear commitment once, then avoid repeated checking without a reason.
FOR THIS SITUATION
Read the whole message before choosing a follow-up.
These original examples separate evidence from assumptions. A statement about a result is still someone’s report; verify the deliverable itself if your task requires it.
Information only
地址收到了，谢谢。
I have received the address, thank you.
Confirmed in the message: receipt of the address. Not confirmed: that they have arrived. If you only needed acknowledgement, stop here.
An action and deadline
收到，我会三点前发给你。
Got it. I will send it to you before three.
The added sentence expresses a commitment. It is not a claim that the file has already been sent. Check the time zone or date separately only if it is unclear.
A completed step
已经发给你了。
I have already sent it to you.
This reports sending, not your receipt, approval or the correctness of the contents. If you cannot find it, ask where it was sent rather than saying the person never did it.
A limit, not a yes
收到，但我今天做不完。
Got it, but I cannot finish it today.
The limit changes the response to the request. Do not read the opening 收到 as overriding the explicit “cannot finish.” The next useful question concerns timing or scope.
CHOOSE WHAT YOU MEAN
Reply with the state you can actually confirm.
You only need to acknowledge information
收到，谢谢。
Got it, thank you.
Fits an address, an update or another message needing no further action from you. After a request, add your actual ability or plan rather than relying on this alone.
You can commit to the requested time
收到，我会三点前发给你。
Got it. I will send it to you before three.
Use only if sending before three is a commitment you can make. Replace the example time and action with the real ones.
You received it but cannot meet the request
文件收到了，但我今天做不完。明天中午前给你，可以吗？
I have the file, but I cannot finish today. Would it work if I sent it to you before noon tomorrow?
This offers an alternative for agreement; it does not unilaterally change the deadline. If you cannot promise tomorrow either, do not copy that part.
You need a time after receiving their acknowledgement
方便确认一下，大概什么时候能发给我？
Could you confirm roughly when you can send it to me?
Asks for missing timing without accusing them of ignoring the request. Use for a real unresolved task, not a message that only needed receipt.
If the conversation continues
They say: 我只是说收到了，还没看。
“I only meant I had received it; I have not looked yet.” Now ask for the next check-in if one is actually needed. Do not argue that 收到 must have meant agreement.
明白，那你看完后告诉我什么时候能完成，可以吗？
Understood. After you have looked, could you tell me when you can finish?
They give a time that does not work for you.
State the real constraint and ask about a smaller deliverable instead of silently treating the proposed time as accepted.
我三点前需要数字部分，其他内容可以晚一点。这样可以吗？
I need the figures section before three; the rest can come later. Would that work?
You said 收到, then realise you cannot do it.
Correct the expectation promptly. Acknowledge the ambiguity and state the actual limit. This is a communication example, not advice on employment obligations.
刚才没说清楚：文件收到了，但今天做不完。
I was not clear just now: I have the file, but I cannot finish today.
OPTIONAL PRACTICE
Can you separate what is said from what is still missing?
No score, no account. You can check the explanation without choosing an answer.
You send a revised file and ask for a check by three. They reply 收到. What is safest to conclude?
See the explanation
Do not convert an acknowledgement into a completed action. The prior request matters, but it does not make completion explicit.
They acknowledged it; completion is not stated — ✓ Receipt is acknowledged. Acceptance of the task may be inferred in context, but the message does not report a finished check. Clarify timing if you need it.
They have already checked every figure — The message does not say that. You would need a report of the completed check, and any deliverable your task requires.
You have the file but cannot finish today. Which reply makes that limit clear?
See the explanation
The useful information is the explicit limit, not the punctuation or a supposedly warmer acknowledgement.
收到，但我今天做不完。 — ✓ Both facts are stated: receipt and the limit. Add a realistic alternative only if you can offer one.
收到！ — This acknowledges the message but leaves your limit unsaid. Enthusiastic punctuation does not communicate that you cannot meet the request.
They write 收到，我会明天发给你。 What remains unconfirmed?
See the explanation
Read the added sentence. A future commitment is stronger than receipt alone, but different from a completed delivery.
Whether it has already been sent — ✓ 会明天发 describes a future plan. It does not report sending now. Ask a narrower time only if “tomorrow” is insufficient for your task.
Whether any future action was mentioned — A future action is explicitly mentioned: sending it tomorrow. Do not erase that evidence by insisting 收到 can only mean receipt.
Keep the useful lines handy.
Copy the reply options or bookmark this page. Change the example details to match your situation.
Selected audio is synthetic. Independent language and listening review are not complete.
Sources and review limits
Published by Next Line Mandarin. Original teaching examples, not platform instructions or transcripts of real people.
Receipt versus task acceptance versus completion; counterexample: an acknowledgement after an instruction can create an expectation of action. AI-assisted editorial consistency check of original examples, pinyin and translations. Dictionary evidence supports the receive gloss, not universal chat etiquette or independent language verification.
- Editorial check
- 2026-10-18 · AI-assisted consistency check
- Independent review
- Independent review pending · Chinese usage, English explanations and listening
Audio is synthetic; pinyin shows dictionary tone marks, not a transcript of every connected-speech change. A date is not a teacher endorsement. Examples suggest possible replies; they do not establish another person’s intentions.
Audio provenance and licences · Editorial method · Correction-channel status
References checked for this lesson
- MDBG / CC-CEDICT: 收到, shōudào, to receive
Lexical meaning and dictionary-tone pinyin only. It does not establish task completion, a speaker’s attitude or a universal workplace convention.
- Collins: receive, with simplified-Chinese translation 收到
Corroborates the receive gloss. The dialogues and conditional follow-ups here are original editorial examples, not quotations or etiquette rules from the dictionary.