Chinese symbol for “detect”
侦查
zhēn chá
Traditional: 偵查
to detect; to investigate
The closest CC-CEDICT match for detect is 侦查 (zhēn chá), defined as: to detect; to investigate.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “detect”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 侦测 (偵測) | zhēn cè | to detect; to sense |
| 检出 (檢出) | jiǎn chū | to detect |
| 检测 (檢測) | jiǎn cè | to test; to detect |
| 发现 (發現) | fā xiàn | to notice; to become aware of; to discover; to find; to detect |
| 检波 (檢波) | jiǎn bō | to detect (e.g. radio waves) |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 侦查.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 侦探 (偵探) | zhēn tàn | detective; to do detective work |
| 侦察 (偵察) | zhēn chá | to investigate a crime; to scout |
| 侦测 (偵測) | zhēn cè | to detect; to sense |
| 侦察机 (偵察機) | zhēn chá jī | surveillance aircraft; spy plane |
| 侦破 (偵破) | zhēn pò | to investigate (as detective); to solve (crime) |
| 调查 (調查) | diào chá | investigation; inquiry |
| 检查 (檢查) | jiǎn chá | inspection; to examine |
| 审查 (審查) | shěn chá | to examine; to investigate |
See also: Japanese symbol for “detect”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.