侦 (zhēn): to scout, to spy, to detect
侦 (zhēn) is a Chinese character meaning “to scout.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (semantic) and 贞 (phonetic). It ranks #1470 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 侦 person. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- to scout
- to spy
- to detect
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 侦 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 侦探noun | zhēn tàn | detective |
| 侦察verb | zhēn chá | to investigate a crime |
| 侦查verb | zhēn chá | to detect |
| 侦破verb | zhēn pò | to investigate (as detective) |
| 侦察兵noun | zhēn chá bīng | a scout |
| 侦察机noun | zhēn chá jī | surveillance aircraft |
| 刑侦verb | xíng zhēn | criminal investigation |
| 侦察员noun | zhēn chá yuán | detective |
| 侦缉verb | zhēn jī | to track down |
| 美国国家侦察局 | měi guó guó jiā zhēn chá jú | National Reconnaissance Office (of the United States) |
| 立案侦查 | lì àn zhēn chá | to file for investigation |
| 国侦局 | guó zhēn jú | abbr. for 美國國家偵察局|美国国家侦察局 |
| 特侦组 | tè zhēn zǔ | special investigation team (Tw) |
| 侦察性 | zhēn chá xìng | investigatory |
| 经侦 | jīng zhēn | economic crime investigation |
侦 appears in 23 compound words: 70 as the first character, 9 as the last, and 22 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 侦 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
那个侦影在月光下显得格外孤独。
nā gě zhēn yǐng zài yuè guāng xià xiǎn dé gé wài gū dú .
That shadow appeared especially lonely under the moonlight.
【厝内大小事】知路/红包开溜啦!呼叫福气侦探队
厝 nèi dà xiǎo shì zhī lù hóng bāo kāi liū lā ! hū jiào fú qì zhēn tàn duì
【Big and Small Things in the House】Know the Road/Red Envelope Open It! Call the Blessing Detectives
智能门钟变“寻犬侦探” 大品牌新功能让邻居镜头组搜救网(有...
zhì néng mén zhōng biàn xún quǎn zhēn tàn dà pǐn pái xīn gōng néng ràng lín jū jìng tóu zǔ sōu jiù wǎng ( yǒu . . .
Smart doorbell turns into a "dog detective" New feature of big brands allows neighbor lens group search and rescue network (there is...
黄侦琳因酒驾争议退选!黄国昌:规范比绿严格1...
huáng zhēn 琳 yīn jiǔ jià zhēng yì tuì xuǎn ! huáng guó chāng : guī fàn bǐ lǜ yán gé 1 . . .
Huang Jianlin withdrew from the election due to drunk driving controversy! Huang Guochang: The norm is stricter than green 1...
影/遭质疑为黄侦琳酒驾争议背书 赖瑞隆:酒驾零容忍
yǐng zāo zhì yí wéi huáng zhēn 琳 jiǔ jià zhēng yì bèi shū lài ruì lóng : jiǔ jià líng róng rěn
Shadow/questioned endorsement of Huang Jianlin's drunk driving controversy Lai Ruilong: Zero tolerance for drunk driving
黄侦琳酒驾不退选?Cheap掀她底狠酸:这女...
huáng zhēn 琳 jiǔ jià bù tuì xuǎn ? C h e a p xiān tā de hěn suān : zhè nǚ . . .
Huang Jianlin drunk driving does not withdraw from the election? Cheap lifted her bottom and soured: This woman...
两个侦探跟着嫌疑人。
Liǎng gè zhēntàn gēnzhe xiányírén.
Two detectives followed the suspect.
那嫌疑犯对侦察官撒了个谎。
Nà xiányífàn duì zhēnchá guān sā le gè huǎng.
The suspect told a lie to the inspector.
私家侦探们受雇调查这桩奇怪的案件。
Sījiā zhēntànmen shòugù diàochá zhè zhuāng qíguài de ànjiàn.
Private detectives were hired to look into the strange case.
她把他形容为侦探。
Tā bǎ tā xíngróng wéi zhēntàn.
She described him as a detective.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 亻 (person) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 侦 (zhēn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 侦 have?
What is the radical of 侦?
What are the components of 侦?
What are common words containing 侦?
What characters sound the same as 侦 (zhēn)?
Is 侦 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 侦 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.