刺探 (cì tàn) — to secretly gather information; to pry; to spy

Definition

verb

to secretly gather informationto pryto spy

刺探。
Tā zǒng xǐ huan cì tàn bié rén de yǐn sī.
He always likes to pry into other people's privacy.
刺探。
Jǐng chá zhèng zài cì tàn fàn zuì tuán huǒ de dòng xiàng.
The police are spying on the criminal gang's movements.
刺探。
Gōng sī pài rén cì tàn duì shǒu de jià gé cè lüè.
The company sent someone to secretly gather intelligence on competitors' pricing strategies.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

刺 suggests probing, and 探 suggests exploring; together they mean to secretly gather information.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

朿刂刺

Meaning part形符xíngfú

刂Written in full as刀dāoknife

Sound part声符shēngfú

朿

朿cì刺cì

Same sound today

刺 pairs 刂 (knife) with 朿, which gives the sound; the knife part fits actions like stabbing or pricking.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

𥥍

𥥍𥥍探tàn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 探, the 扌 part is a hand, and 𥥍 gives the sound.

Appears in