搜 sōu to seek
to seek; to search; to investigate; to collect; to gather
How to remember 搜: 扌 hand + 叟 old man = to seek. With a torch in one hand the old man crawls under the bed, determined to seek where his false teeth went.
Component breakdown
搜 = 扌 hand + 叟 old man
- 扌 hand
- 叟 old man
With a torch in one hand the old man crawls under the bed, determined to seek where his false teeth went.
How it is used
- 搜索 sōusuǒ "to search" is also the word for internet search - 搜索引擎 sōusuǒ yǐnqíng "search engine."
- Used alone colloquially: 搜一下 (sōu yíxià) "look it up," the common way to tell someone to google something.
- 搜查 sōuchá is the formal word for a police search (of a place); 搜集 sōují means "to gather/collect" (data, evidence).