About
The character 查 is a phonosemantic compound, combining the meaning component 木 ('tree') with the sound component 且 (now written 旦). Its original meaning was 'hawthorn tree', a sense later taken over by the variant character 柤. 查 was borrowed purely for its sound to express the unrelated meanings of investigating, examining, and checking. This loan usage has completely supplanted the original sense, making 查 the standard character for everything from police inquiries and academic research to looking up a word in a dictionary.
Example Sentences Hide
我查一下地图。
医生检查身体。
明天我要查资料。
请你查证这件事。
我们先调查再决定。
警察仔细查看了现场。
如果你查不到信息，可以问我。
专家正在查阅历史档案以查明真相。
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