The kanji 偵 primarily conveys the meaning of "spy," "detective," "to investigate," or "to secretly observe." It implies gathering information, often discreetly, to uncover facts or discover secrets. The character suggests a process of gathering intelligence.

・On-yomi (音読み): テイ (tei) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): さぐ (sagu) - This reading is less common.

⚫︎探偵 (tantei) Translation: Detective ⚫︎偵察 (teisatsu) Translation: Reconnaissance; scouting; to reconnoiter ⚫︎偵察機 (teisatsuki) Translation: Reconnaissance aircraft

The kanji 偵 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is the radical 亻(ninben), meaning "person." The right side is 貞 (tei), which contributes the sound and has the original meaning of "truthful," "pure," or "to inquire." The combination suggests a person 亻 who is investigating 貞 to find the truth, or someone who is secretly observing to gather information.