诘 (jié): to question closely

Meanings

法官逐一诘问证人的细节。

Fǎguān zhúyī jiéwèn zhèngrén de xìjié.

The judge pressed the witness on the details one by one.

面对记者的反诘，他无法回答。

Miànduì jìzhě de fǎnjié, tā wúfǎ huídá.

When reporters pressed him, he could not answer.

usage

诘 is a written, formal verb. It is rarely standalone, appearing in compounds like 诘问 (to interrogate) and 反诘 (to retort with a question).

radical

讠 yán

speech; words

The speech radical, left-side form of 言, marks 诘 as a verb of speaking, here a sharp verbal challenge.

phonetic

吉 jí

lucky; auspicious

Gives the sound, drifted from jí to the modern reading jié. The same phonetic appears in 结 and 洁.

诘 jié