诘 (jié) · to question closely, to interrogate

Meanings

1 to question closely
2 to interrogate
3 to press with questions

Characters

诘

jié

to question closely

Examples

HSK 5

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.

HSK 7-9

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.

Tips

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).

Components

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.

Stroke Order

诘 jié

Related Words

诘问 jiéwèn #33,286

to interrogate / to question closely / to cross-examine

摩诘 Mójié

Mojie, courtesy name of the Tang poet Wang Wei

盘问 pánwèn #7,184

to interrogate / to cross-examine / to question closely

紧紧 jǐnjǐn #5,552

closely; tightly; firmly

挤 jǐ HSK 5 #2,607

to crowd; to push into (a crowd) / to squeeze; to press / crowded; packed

催 cuī HSK 5 #5,240

to urge / to press / to rush (someone)

出版 chūbǎn HSK 5 #3,577

to publish / to come off the press

钉 dīng #3,336

nail; spike; stud / to follow closely; to stick to (somebody) / to keep at someone (to get them to do something)

紧密 jǐnmì HSK 5 #7,977

close; closely linked; inseparable / tight; compact

当天 dāngtiān #5,534

on that day / the day in question