査

A phono-semantic compound:

木 (“wood, tree”) — semantic element.

且 (cha / sa, phonetic) — phonetic element.

Originally meant “raft”, synonymous with 槎 (사) and 楂 (사).

Later shifted to mean “to check, to investigate, to examine.”

調査 (조사) — investigation, inquiry

檢査 (검사) — inspection, examination

査問 (사문) — inquiry, interrogation

査察 (사찰) — investigation, audit

査定 (사정) — appraisal, assessment

査 and 查 are interchangeable, but 查 is the more common/standard form in modern Chinese character sets.

The original “raft” sense is largely obsolete, preserved in related characters (槎, 楂).

In Korean and Japanese usage today, 査 almost always appears in compounds for investigation/examination.

查 (with 旦 instead of 且) — attested in Kangxi Zidian, used as the standard form in modern Chinese.