察 chá — examine; inquire; observe; inspect; look into; to examine
他仔细观察着这只小昆虫。Tā zǐ xì guān chá zhe zhè zhī xiǎo kūn chóng.He carefully observed this little insect.
Common words: 警察 (jǐng chá)、观察 (guān chá)、考察 (kǎo chá)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "inspect"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "inspect", including 察 (chá), 稽 (jī / qǐ). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "inspect" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 察 (chá), 稽 (jī / qǐ) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span chá, jī, qǐ — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 察 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 察 cháexamine; inquire; observe; inspect; look into; to examineUseful words: 警察, 观察
- 稽 jī / qǐinspect; check; bow to the groundUseful words: 滑稽, 无稽
Common words for these 2 "inspect" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 察 (chá) — so "inspect" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "inspect".
稽 jī / qǐ — inspect; check; bow to the ground
警察正在仔细稽查过往的车辆。Jǐng chá zhèng zài zǐ xì jī chá guò wǎng de chē liàng.The police are carefully checking the passing vehicles.
Common words: 滑稽 (huá jī)、无稽 (wú jī)、稽查 (jī chá)
All 2 characters
Open 察、稽 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.