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猜测 (cāi cè) — to guess, to conjecture, to surmise

Definition

猜测 is more formal than 猜 and focuses on reasoning from limited evidence, not a casual guess. Stronger near-synonyms: 推测 (more inferential, from facts) and 假设 (a formal hypothesis).

verb
to guessto conjectureto surmise

Examples

  • 猜测。
    Wǒ cāi cè tā jīn tiān bú huì lái le.
    I guess he won't come today.
  • 猜测？
    Nǐ néng cāi cè chū zhè dào tí de dá àn ma?
    Can you guess the answer to this question?
  • 猜测，。
    Bié cāi cè le, zhí jiē gào sù wǒ ba.
    Stop guessing, just tell me.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

猜cāiguess
测cèestimate

Both 猜 and 测 express estimating or guessing, so together they mean to conjecture.

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
犭Written in full as犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng猜cāi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

猜 pairs 犭, the dog radical (full form 犬), with 青 as the sound part.

Open 猜 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 測; 测 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
則
則zé測cè
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 測 combines 氵 (water) with 則 for the sound; it is explained as measuring the depth of water. The simplified 测 is a later shorthand.

Open 测 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Thinking & Cognition5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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