究 (jiū) is a Chinese character meaning “to look into thoroughly”. It is written from 穴 (cave; hole) and 九 (nine), one above the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to investigate”
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Structure
穴 + 九
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字·穴部：究，窮也。从穴九聲（现代字形已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：穴 5 画 + 九 2 画 = 7 画）
Memory aid
Crawl under the cave roof (穴) and keep going past the ninth (九) bend — you don't stop until you've got to the bottom of it.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 研究yán jiūto research; to study; research究 = jiūHSK 4
- 究竟jiū jìngactually; after all; the outcome究 = jiūHSK 5
Go deeper
All readings
to investigate
to look into thoroughly; to get to the bottom of something; after all
深入追查、探求到底。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 研究yán jiūto research; to study; research究 = jiūHSK 4
- 究竟jiū jìngactually; after all; the outcome究 = jiūHSK 5
Sound component
九 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 究 mean?
究 (jiū) means to look into thoroughly; to get to the bottom of something; after all.
How do you pronounce 究?
It is pronounced jiū.
What parts is 究 made of?
穴 (cave; hole) and 九 (nine), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字·穴部：究，窮也。从穴九聲（现代字形已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：穴 5 画 + 九 2 画 = 7 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 究 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 究?
穴. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 究?
Common ones are 研究 and 究竟. The reading of 究 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.