TongTong
Sign in

审查 (shěn chá) — to examine, to review (documents, accounts, applications); to censor (media, content, publications)

Definition

审查 is a formal/official 'review or censor,' used when an authority checks documents, applications, or media. 核查 and 考查 are fact-finding inspections, not censorship.

verb
to examineto review (documents, accounts, applications)to censor (media, content, publications)

Examples

  • 审查。
    Gōng sī měi nián dōu huì shěn chá yí cì cái wù bào biǎo.
    The company reviews its financial statements once a year.
  • 审查。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng bèi shěn chá hòu shān chú le jǐ gè jìng tóu.
    After being censored, several scenes were removed from this film.
  • 审查。
    Shēn qǐng cái liào xū yào jīng guò yán gé shěn chá cái néng tōng guò.
    Application materials must go through a strict review before being approved.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

审shěnexamine
查chácheck

审查 pairs 审 (examine) and 查 (check) to mean a careful review or investigation.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 審; 审 is its simplified writing.

  • 宀宀miánroof
  • 釆釆biànto distinguish
  • 田田tián

The simplified 审 abbreviates the traditional 審, which is built from 宀 (roof) and 釆 (to distinguish); the lower 田 is uncertain.

Open 审 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Government & Politics

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.