查

2 readings · tap one to hear it

to research; to check; to investigate; to examine; to refer to; to look up (e.g. a word in a dictionary)

Sound it out + = · + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Components 木旦

investigate · Heisig RSH #220

旦 daybreak + 木 tree

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
查尔斯	Chá ěr sī	(name) Charles
查加斯病	Chá jiā sī bìng	Chagas disease; American trypanosomiasis
查克拉	chá kè lā	(loanword) chakra
人口调查	rén kǒu diào chá	census
加查县	Jiā chá Xiàn	Gyaca, a county in Shannan City 山南市[Shan1 nan2 Shi4], Tibet
出口调查	chū kǒu diào chá	exit poll
波德里查	Bō dé lǐ chá	Podgorica, capital of Montenegro (Tw)
理查德	Lǐ chá dé	Richard (name)
人口普查	rén kǒu pǔ chá	census
中国地质调查局	Zhōng guó Dì zhì Diào chá jú	China Geological Survey (CGS)
市场调查	shì chǎng diào chá	market research
查字法	chá zì fǎ	look-up method for Chinese characters
身家调查	shēn jiā diào chá	to do a background check on sb
调查人员	diào chá rén yuán	investigator
美国地质调查局	Měi guó Dì zhì Diào chá jú	United States Geological Survey (USGS)
汉字查字法	hàn zì chá zì fǎ	look-up method for Chinese characters
民意调查	mín yì diào chá	opinion poll
山查	shān zhā	variant of 山楂[shan1 zha1]
查水表	chá shuǐ biǎo	(Internet slang) (of the police) to ask to be let in on the pretext of checking the water …
查尔斯·格雷	Chá ěr sī · Gé léi	Charles Grey (1764-1845), prime minister of the United Kingdom 1830-34

These characters use 查 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
查 sound part	chá	to investigate, to examine, to look into
渣	zhā	dregs, sediment; refuse, slag
碴	chá	quarrel; fault; a shard of glass
喳	zhā	to whisper
楂	zhā	raft; to hew, to fell trees
馇	chā	to stir, to cook, to boil; porridge
揸	zhā	handful; to grasp, to seize
猹	chá	badger; a wild animal mentioned in a story by Lu Xun