The kanji 査 primarily conveys the meaning of "to investigate," "to examine," "to inspect," or "to check." It implies a careful and thorough process of looking into something to gather information, verify facts, or assess value. This process often involves looking closely at something.

・On-yomi (音読み): サ（sa） ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): しら（べる）（shira(beru)）- to investigate, to examine

⚫︎ 調査（ちょうさ） Translation: Investigation; survey; research ⚫︎ 検査（けんさ） Translation: Inspection; examination; checkup ⚫︎ 査定（さてい） Translation: Assessment; appraisal; evaluation

The kanji 査 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), which means it is a character that combines a semantic component (a part that gives meaning) and a phonetic component (a part that gives sound). In this case: ⚫︎ The semantic component is 木 (ki), meaning "tree" or "wood". ⚫︎ The phonetic component is 且 (sa), which originally meant "and also." The original meaning of 査might have been related to checking the quality or condition of wood. Over time, the meaning expanded to encompass the broader concept of investigation and examination.