拿.带. 取.

An example of 取 is 取现金 [qŭ xiàn jīn] to withdraw cash. 我在哪里能取现金？Where can I withdraw cash?

An example of 带 is 我忘记带钱包了，I forgot to bring my wallet.

Here an example of 拿 from the Yoga lesson. The person saying that she has this advertisment from a yoga place. 那天我拿了一张广告... That day I took a flyer... Here is the notion of the person "taking" something. I guess you could also use 带 dai. 我带(你)了一张广告。 wo dai (ni) le yi zhang guanggao. I brought (you) a flyer... There is direction in the verb. (carry, bring) Or with 取qu 我取了一张广告。 wo qule yizhang guanggao. I received a flyer. The speaker is not the active part, or only in the sense of getting, receiving something - but it is different from the actively taking. Does that make sense?

These are definitions in 现代汉语词典. 拿 (na2) 用手或用其他方式抓住，搬动(东西) 带 (dai4) 随身拿着，携带 取 (qu3) 拿到手里 领 (ling3) 带，引，领取 The basic meaning of 拿 is “hold, take, grasp, get with your hands”, and its object is usually a thing, but of course there is an exception, such as “拿你没办法!” Its etymology is 合 ＋ 手 = 拿, which means “to put hands together.” “带” basically means “carry, bring” and its object can be both things and persons. The part “巾” of the character means a towel, a scarf, webbing strap, a wrapping cloth and so on. They all help you to carry or bring something. “取” (耳 ＋ 又) is interesting etymologically. “又” meant a right hand in old Chinese, and “取” meant “to get an ear (耳) with a right hand”. Ancient soldiers cut ears of enemy soldiers and kept them as evidence of their achievements. You can substitute “领” for “取” and “带”, but I don’t know whether or not its nuance is the same. Anyway, it is not easy to learn all the usages of those similar characters. They are sometimes interchangeable, but still have different nuances.....perhaps. 我在银行取钱 / 我在银行领钱。 我带你去散步 / 我领你去散步。

Hi dpay02, in addition to the great explanations given by everybody else above, my little dictionary seems to suggest that you would 取得 (qu3de2) something, but you would 拿倒 (na2dao4) something else. Oh well, just in case you wanted to know the appropriate particles... (ie 得 or 到). All the best for your Mandarin learning!

P/s: For 带 (dai4), my little dictionary gives the following examples: 他报到得时候带着很多行李。 出门多带点儿钱。 夏天旅行一定要多带几瓶水。 请带词典来上课。 我去看他的时候，带去一瓶酒。 Good night...

Well thanks everybody so far for the detailed explanations! I I will definitely will make the effort to get more involved with the community :)