The kanji 検 primarily conveys the meaning of "to examine," "to inspect," "to check," or "to investigate." It implies a thorough process of looking into something to assess its quality, accuracy, or condition. It can also refer to the process of testing or verifying something.

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

⚫︎検査（けんさ） Translation: inspection; examination ⚫︎検定（けんてい） Translation: certification; examination; qualifying test ⚫︎点検（てんけん） Translation: inspection; checkup

The kanji 検 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is 木 (ki, meaning "tree" or "wood"), and the right side is 僉 (sen), which provides the sound and originally meant "all" or "together." The combination suggests examining or measuring something related to wood, such as the quality or dimensions. Over time, the meaning expanded to encompass general inspection and examination.