King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Japanese symbol for “inquiry”

Romaji: chousa
investigation; examination; inquiry; enquiry

In Japanese, inquiry is , read (chousa).

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.

Meanings

  1. n, vs, vt investigation; examination; inquiry; enquiry; survey

Kanji and stroke order

tune, tone, meter
on: チョウ
kun: しら.べる、しら.べ、ととの.う、ととの.える
15 strokes · JLPT 2
investigate
on: サ
9 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “inquiry”

WordReadingMeaning
しつもん shitsumonquestion; inquiry; enquiry
といあわせ toiawaseinquiry; query; enquiry
そうさ sousasearch (esp. in criminal investigations); investigation; inquiry
しょうかい shoukaiinquiry; query; enquiry
みまい mimaivisit (to someone affected by illness or misfortune); call; inquiry (about someone's health)

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

WordReadingMeaning
しらべ shirabeinvestigation; inspection; examination
ちょうせい chouseiadjustment; regulation; coordination
ちょうし choushitune; tone; key
たいちょう taichouphysical condition; state of health; shape
じゅんちょう junchoufavourable; favorable; doing well
けんさ kensainspection (e.g. customs, factory); examination; test
そうさ sousasearch (esp. in criminal investigations); investigation; inquiry
しんさ shinsajudging; inspection; examination

See also: Chinese symbol for “inquiry”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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