chuǎi / chuāi
verb #14,215

Meanings

  1. 1 to estimate
  2. 2 to guess
  3. 3 to size up

Examples

Wǒ chuǎi bù chū tā zài xiǎng shénme.
I can't guess what he is thinking.
Tā yīzhí zài chuǎimó lǎobǎn de xīnsi.
She kept trying to figure out the boss's intentions.

Tips

usage
The chuǎi reading is the one in compounds about working out hidden meaning: 揣测 (to conjecture), 揣摩 (to ponder out), 揣度 (to appraise). Switching to chuāi turns it physical: tucking an object into clothing.

Components

radical
shǒu
hand
is the left-side form of (hand). is a verb of doing something with the hand: slipping an object into a pocket, or by extension weighing and guessing intent. The hand radical anchors all of these tactile senses.
phonetic
duān
sprout tip; beginning
supplies the sound, drifted to chuāi. It is the older ancestor of modern (end; tip), drawn as a sprout with roots. Same phonetic family: extremity, to pant, rapids.

Stroke Order

chuǎi