考究 (kǎo jiū) — (verb) to investigate carefully, to examine thoroughly; (adjective) tasteful, elegant, fastidious

Definition

考究 is both a verb ('to investigate/examine carefully') and an adjective meaning 'tasteful, finely made' — describing clothing or craftsmanship with attention to detail.

verb
to investigate carefullyto examine thoroughly
adjective
tastefulelegantfastidious

Examples

  • 考究。
    Zhè ge wèn tí xū yào zǐ xì kǎo jiū yí xià.
    This issue needs to be carefully investigated.
  • 考究。
    Tā de chuān zhuó fēi cháng kǎo jiū.
    Her clothing is very tasteful.
  • 考究。
    Zhè jiàn jiā jù zuò gōng hěn kǎo jiū.
    This piece of furniture is made with exquisite craftsmanship.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

考kǎoexamine
究jiūinvestigate

考 and 究 both mean examine, together giving thorough investigation or elegance.

Characters in this word

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

  • 耂耂lǎoan old man with long hair, bent over
  • 丂丂kǎoa walking cane

In 考, the upper 耂 is an old man with long hair, bent over, and the lower 丂 is a walking cane.

Open 考 →

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
穴穴xuécave
Sound part声符shēngfú
九
九jiǔ究jiū
Same sound today

究 pairs 穴, a cave, with 九, which gives the sound.

Open 究 →

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