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查

Mandarin · pinyin chá#

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

Mandarin · pinyin zhā#

variant of 楂 zhā

Mandarin · pinyin Zhā#

surname Zha

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Characters in this entry

查: chá · investigate, examine, seek into

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

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Mandarin tones

2 · cha2

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Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link27same-tone records

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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.

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

caa4 · zaa1

Cantonese word readings for 查. 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.

character

(alt. form 槎) original form of 楂 (chá, “wooden raft”)
to investigate; to examine; to look into; to probe
to look up something in; to search in; to consult

character

(alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 楂 (zhā, “hawthorn”)
a surname
(dialectal) I; me

character

(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese, colloquial) government official

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

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