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查询 (chá xún) — to query; to check (information from a database, document, etc.); to consult (a document or source)

Definition

查询 means to look up or retrieve information from a system (database, website, records). More technical than 询问 (asking a person); 咨询 fits professional advice.

verb
to queryto check (information from a database, document, etc.)to consult (a document or source)

Examples

  • 查询。
    Wǒ zài shù jù kù lǐ chá xún kè hù xìn xī.
    I am querying customer information in the database.
  • 查询。
    Qǐng yòng wǎng zhàn chá xún háng bān shí jiān.
    Please check the flight times on the website.
  • 查询。
    Xì tǒng chá xún jì lù xū yào liǎng fēn zhōng.
    The system takes two minutes to query the records.

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chácheck
询xúninquire

查 and 询 both involve seeking information, so together they mean to check or inquire.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 詢; 询 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
旬
旬xún詢xún
Same sound today

The traditional form 詢 pairs 言 (speech) with 旬, which gives its sound; the simplified 询 is a shorthand.

Open 询 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Computers & Internet

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