Checking and examination with 検
検 usually means to examine or investigate. It also has a restraint or regulation sense. The on-reading is ケン.
Etymology
This kanji is the simplified form of 檢, a phono-semantic compound comprised of 木 (wood) as the semantic component and 僉 or 㑒 as the phonetic component (ケン).
The older form originally referred to a wooden tag placed over bundled wooden slips to seal and verify them.
Etymology Research
檢 combines semantic 木 with phonetic 僉. The wooden sealing label described by Kanjipedia belongs to the traditional account of its original meaning. Kanjipedia identifies 検 as a simplified form and treats the use for examining as a borrowing. Kanjipedia, citing Kadokawa Shinjigen
Earlier evidence complicates a simple sealing origin. CUHK’s database records 檢 on a spear of King Xi of Yan from the late Warring States period. It tentatively interprets the word as the sharp part of a spear and suggests that 木 relates to the wooden shaft. This is a proposed interpretation of an attested inscription. The entry also supplies small-seal and bamboo or silk manuscript forms. CUHK Multi-function Chinese Character Database
CUHK quotes the Shuowen analysis as 木 with phonetic 僉 and explains the document sense through Duan Yucai’s commentary on marking the outside of a document container. This provides a textual tradition for the document-related meaning without proving it was the earliest use. CUHK
Heibonsha’s Jitsu instead connects sealing and marking with standards or models, then with examining matters by those standards and restraining oneself. This is an attributed semantic account, distinct from Kanjipedia’s borrowing explanation. The sources support the components more firmly than a single chronology of meanings. Jitsu, 検
Inspection and Verification
検査 (Inspection)
検査 refers to the process of carefully examining something against certain standards to determine whether there are any abnormalities or if it meets the required criteria.
It combines 検 (check) with 査 (inspect) to show a close inspection.
Example 1 of 2: Classroom bag inspection with 検査
Nishikata and Takagi are on duty preparing the classroom before class.
- 高木:
- 「そういえば今日持ちもの検査があったような気が…」
- “Come to think of it, I think we have a bag inspection today…”
Example 2 of 2: Ticket inspection aboard a water bus with 船内
During a meal before practice, Aika notices how Akari is friends with many strangers. Akari says she’ll be missing practice that afternoon because Alicia asked her to buy something. Once she’s gone, Aika and Alice decide to tail her and see if they can learn her secret to being friends with everyone. The two lose sight of Alice, but Alice suggests Akari may have boarded the vaporetto, the water bus. They decided to board as well, but Aika’s never been on the vaporetto before. Alice explains the ticket system, which doesn’t require showing one’s ticket when getting off, but that doesn’t mean they can skip paying.
- アリス:
- 「時々 船内で抜き打ち検査があるのです」
- “Every now and then, they do surprise inspections on board.”
Searching and Discovery
探検 (Exploration)
探検 means exploring an unknown or little-known place firsthand, often on an expedition involving some danger.
It combines 探 (explore) with 検 (inspect or examine) to show exploration through close examination.
During a camping trip, Conan and his friends are out collecting firewood when they happen upon a cave. Seeing the entrance roped off, and an obsure message carved into a rock, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta set their gathered sticks on the ground and they head inside.
- コナン:
- 「おいおい お前ら…」
- “Hey, you guys...”
- 歩美:
- 「いーじゃない ちょっと探検するだけだから…」
- “It's okay. We're just going to explore a little.”