追根究底

Mandarin · pinyin zhuī gēn jiū dǐ

Meanings

  1. to get to the heart of the matter
Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

追
zhuī · pursue, chase after; expel
根
gēn · root, base(d on); foundation
究
jiū · examine, investigate
底
dǐ · bottom, underneath, underside
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–1–1–3 · zhui1 gen1 jiu1 di3

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links
Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zeoi1 gan1 gau3 dai2

Cantonese word readings for 追根究底. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

zeoi1 gan1 gau3 dai2

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

  1. (idiomatic) to get to the bottom of the matter
  2. (idiomatic) to make a thorough inquiry into something

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

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