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查找 (chá zhǎo) — to search for, to look up

Definition

查找 (cházhǎo) is a neutral compound verb meaning 'to search for / look up' — more formal and deliberate than the single character 查, and broader than 搜索 (which pairs with digital/dictionary contexts).

verb
to search forto look up

Examples

  • 查找。
    Wǒ zài wǎng shàng chá zhǎo xìn xī.
    I search for information online.
  • 查找？
    Nǐ néng bāng wǒ chá zhǎo zhè ge hào mǎ ma?
    Can you help me look up this number?
  • 查找。
    Tā yòng shǒu jī chá zhǎo dì tú.
    He uses his phone to search for a map.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

查chásearch
找zhǎoseek

查 and 找 both involve looking for something, so together they mean to search for or look up.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
且
且qiě查chá
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

查 pairs 木 (wood) with 且, which shows the sound. It originally meant a hawthorn tree or a wooden raft.

Open 查 →

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

找 pairs 扌 (hand) with 戈 as a sound part. The idea that it shows a hand looking for a halberd is only a memory trick.

Open 找 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4

Browse more HSK 4 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.