chá
examine
Original meaning:
eaves
Phonosemantic compound. 宀 represents the meaning and 祭 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "eaves". The meaning later shifted to "observe from above", "examine", and "inspect".
Evolution
Bronze script
Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
Seal script
Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical script
Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)Regular script
ModernDefinitions
Most common words with 察
Freq. | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
police | ||
to observe | ||
to inspect | ||
public prosecutor | ||
to supervise |
Sources