查明 (chá míng) — to ascertain, to find out through investigation | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

查明 means 'to find out through investigation' — emphasizes reaching a clear conclusion after inquiry, more about the result than 侦查, which focuses on the investigative process itself.

verb

to ascertain, to find out through investigation

Examples

查明。
Jǐng fāng zhèng zài chá míng shì gù de yuán yīn.
The police are investigating the cause of the accident.
，查明。
Jīng guò diào chá, wǒ men chá míng le tā de zhēn shí shēn fèn.
After investigation, we ascertained his true identity.
查明。
Xiāo fáng rén yuán bì xū chá míng huǒ zāi de yuán tóu.
Firefighters must determine the source of the fire.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

查cháinvestigate

查 (investigate) and 明 (clear) together mean find out and make clear.

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.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

日月明

日日rìsun
月月yuèmoon

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Thinking & Cognition

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