揣 (chuāi) — to estimate; to guess; to surmise
Definition
A written/formal verb meaning 'to surmise, to conjecture' — stronger and more literary than 猜 ('to guess') and more inference-based than 估计 ('to roughly estimate'). Often pairs with 测/摩 to form 揣测/揣摩.
verb
to estimateto guessto surmise
Examples
- 。Wǒ chuāi cè bù chū tā de xiǎng fǎ.I can't guess his thoughts.
- 。Cóng tā de biǎo qíng kě yǐ chuāi cè chū tā hěn kāi xīn.From her expression, one can guess she is very happy.
- ，。Bié luàn chuāi cè, xiān diào chá qīng chǔ zài shuō.Don't guess randomly; investigate first and then talk.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
耑
耑zhuān揣chuǎi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
揣 combines 手, a hand, with 耑, which gives the sound.
Appears in
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