Meaning of 探讨
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to investigate
- to probe
How to use 探讨
探讨 is a formal verb used for serious discussion or study of a question, often in academic writing, meetings, and articles. It usually takes an abstract object like 问题 (wèntí), 原因 (yuányīn), or 可能性 (kěnéngxìng). Example: 我们来探讨一下这个问题。(Wǒmen lái tàntǎo yíxià zhège wèntí.) Let's look into this question.
探 (tàn) means to probe or explore, as in 探索 (tànsuǒ), and 讨 (tǎo) means to discuss, as in 讨论 (tǎolùn). Put them together and you get probing a topic by talking it through, which is 探讨.
Common mistake: Learners often use 探讨 for casual chats, where 讨论 (tǎolùn) or 聊 (liáo) sounds more natural. 探讨 suggests deeper, exploratory thinking. Also keep both tones falling then dipping: tàn is fourth tone and tǎo is third tone.
探讨 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
探 tàn · to explore · 11 strokes
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讨 tǎo · to invite · 5 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 探讨.
| 讨论 | tǎolùn | to discuss; to talk over |
| 讨厌 | tǎoyàn | to dislike; to loathe; annoying; troublesome |
| 探索 | tànsuǒ | to explore; to probe |
| 探望 | tànwàng | to visit; to call on sb |
| 探险 | tànxiǎn | to explore; to go on an expedition |
| 探测 | tàncè | to probe; to survey |
| 讨好 | tǎohǎo | to get the desired outcome; to win favor by fawning on sb |
| 讨价还价 | tǎojià-huánjià | to haggle over price; to bargain |
| 试探 | shìtan | to sound out; to probe |
| 讨人喜欢 | tǎo rén xǐhuan | to attract people's affection; charming |
| 商讨 | shāngtǎo | to discuss; to deliberate |
| 乞讨 | qǐtǎo | to beg; to go begging |
Questions about 探讨
What does 探讨 mean?
探讨 (tàntǎo) means "to investigate; to probe" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 探讨?
探讨 is made of 2 characters: 探 (11 strokes), 讨 (5 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.
Is 探讨 an HSK word?
Yes. 探讨 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 探讨 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 探讨 is written 探討.
What is the difference between 探讨 and 讨论?
讨论 (tǎolùn) is the everyday word for discussing something, including plans or simple topics. 探讨 is more formal and focuses on exploring a question in depth to understand it better.
Can 探讨 be used as a noun?
Yes, in formal writing it often appears as a noun, especially in titles. For example, 关于城市交通的探讨 (guānyú chéngshì jiāotōng de tàntǎo) means a discussion of urban traffic.