猜

cāi
HSK 4
#1,596 most
frequent character
to guess
verb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

猜 uses 犭, dog or animal, as the meaning part and 青 qīng for sound. It first meant hating someone enough to hurt or kill. Later it grew to suspect or doubt, then to guess. The sound link is not obvious in Mandarin.

Ask DeepSeek

Example Sentences

我猜这个问题的答案是五。
wǒ cāi zhègè wèntí de dáàn shì wǔ 。
I guess the answer to this question is five.
他总是喜欢猜我的心思。
tā zǒngshì xǐhuān cāi wǒde xīnsī 。
He always likes to guess my thoughts.
你能猜出我今天穿的是什么颜色吗？
nǐ néng cāichū wǒ jīntiān chuān deshì shénme yánsè ma ？
Can you guess what color I am wearing today?

Words with similar meanings

推测tuīcè
to speculate
More formal and implies a reasoned process of reasoning.
揣测chuǎicè
to infer
Suggesting an interpretation based on limited evidence.

Your word lists

Sign in to add this word to your private lists.