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試探

简试探 · 繁試探

Mandarin · pinyin shì tàn

to sound out
to probe
to feel out
to try out

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Characters in this entry

試: Look up this written character
探: tàn · find, locate; search, grope for
试: shì · test, try, experiment

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · shi4 tan4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

試探 · find source passages ↗ · 试探 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

si3 taam3

Cantonese word readings for 試探. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to prove or explore a question

verb

to sound out; to feel out

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack