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察看 (chá kàn) — to examine carefully, to watch closely

Definition

察看 means to examine or watch closely, often for a practical purpose like checking conditions or investigating. Stronger than 查看 (routine check) and 观察 (passive observation); 审查 adds a formal/official review sense.

verb
to examine carefullyto watch closely
Easily confused

Examples

  • 察看。
    Qǐng nǐ zǐ xì chá kàn zhè fèn wén jiàn.
    Please examine this document carefully.
  • 察看。
    Tā chá kàn le yí xià tiān qì qíng kuàng zài chū mén.
    He checked the weather conditions before going out.
  • 察看。
    Jǐng chá zài chá kàn shì gù de yuán yīn.
    The police are investigating the cause of the accident.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

察cháexamine
看kànlook

察 (examine) and 看 (look) together mean watch carefully.

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
祭
祭jì察chá
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape 察 combines 宀, a roof, with 祭 as the sound part.

Open 察 →

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

The shape 看 puts 手 (hand) over 目 (eye), showing a hand placed above the eyes to gaze into the distance.

Open 看 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Senses

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