查 chá / zhā — to research; to check; to investigate; to examine; to refer to; to search
老师正在检查我们的作业。Lǎo shī zhèng zài jiǎn chá wǒ men de zuò yè.The teacher is checking our homework.
Common words: 检查 (jiǎn chá)、调查 (diào chá)、查看 (chá kàn)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to examine"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to examine", including 查 (chá / zhā), 考 (kǎo), 验 (yàn), 察 (chá), 检 (jiǎn), 审 (shěn). Study pinyin…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to examine" covers 6 different Chinese characters — 查 (chá / zhā), 考 (kǎo), 验 (yàn), 察 (chá), 检 (jiǎn), 审 (shěn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 6 characters do not share a sound — their readings span chá, zhā, kǎo, yàn, jiǎn, shěn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 查 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 查 chá / zhāto research; to check; to investigate; to examine; to refer to; to searchUseful words: 检查, 调查
- 考 kǎoto check; to verify; to test; to examineUseful words: 考试, 考生
- 验 yànto examine; to test; to checkUseful words: 经验, 实验
- 察 cháexamine; inquire; observe; inspect; look into; to examineUseful words: 警察, 观察
- 检 jiǎnto check; to examine; to inspectUseful words: 检查, 检测
Common words for these 6 "to examine" characters
Anchor each of these 6 characters in a word you can picture — start with 查 (chá / zhā) — so "to examine" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
检查jiǎn cháinspection; to examine; to inspect调查diào cháinvestigation; inquiry; to investigate; to survey查看chá kànto look over; to examine; to check up; to ferret out考试kǎo shìto take an exam; exam考生kǎo shēngexam candidate; student whose name has been put forward for an exam考验kǎo yànto test; to put to the test; trial; ordeal经验jīng yànexperience; to go through; to experience实验shí yànexperiment; test; experimental; to experiment试验shì yànexperiment; test; to experiment; experimental警察jǐng chápolice; police officer
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 6 ways to say "to examine".
考 kǎo — to check; to verify; to test; to examine
下周我们要考数学。Xià zhōu wǒ men yào kǎo shù xué.Next week we have a math exam.
Common words: 考试 (kǎo shì)、考生 (kǎo shēng)、考验 (kǎo yàn)
验 yàn — to examine; to test; to check
做完实验要写一份报告。Zuò wán shí yàn yào xiě yí fèn bào gào.After doing the experiment, you should write a report.
Common words: 经验 (jīng yàn)、实验 (shí yàn)、试验 (shì yàn)
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)
检 jiǎn — to check; to examine; to inspect
医生给他做了一次身体检查。Yī shēng gěi tā zuò le yí cì shēn tǐ jiǎn chá.The doctor gave him a physical examination.
Common words: 检查 (jiǎn chá)、检测 (jiǎn cè)、体检 (tǐ jiǎn)
审 shěn — to examine; to investigate; carefully; to try (in court)
老师认真审阅了我们的作文。Lǎo shī rèn zhēn shěn yuè le wǒ men de zuò wén.The teacher carefully reviewed our essays.
Common words: 审判 (shěn pàn)、审查 (shěn chá)、审理 (shěn lǐ)
All 6 characters
Open 查、考、验 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.