察
察 — Guess
guess, presume, surmise, judge, understand
On’yomiサツ (satsu)
Kun’yomi—
Stroke order (14 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 察
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 警察 | けいさつ keisatsu | police; police officer; police station |
| 検察 | けんさつ kensatsu | criminal investigation; prosecution; examination |
| 査察 | ささつ sasatsu | inspection (for compliance); investigation (tax, etc.) |
| 警察庁 | けいさつちょう keisatsuchou | National Police Agency; NPA |
| 視察 | しさつ shisatsu | inspection; observation |
| 観察 | かんさつ kansatsu | observation; survey; watching |
Study notes
察 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 14 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 4), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #477 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
🔊 Tap the big kanji, any reading or any example word to hear it.