探 — “to search” in Japanese

Grade 6たん, さぐ, さが

Radical ⼿ · radical 64 The building block this kanji is filed under

“to search” in Japanese is 探, read tan, sagu, saga (たん, さぐ, さが). It is a Grade 6 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 6 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 探偵 (detective).

Try it now

What does 探 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	探
Meaning	to search
Readings	たん, さぐ, さが
Grade	Grade 6 (Hardest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	探偵 (detective)

How to read 探

探 is read tan (たん) or sagu (さぐ) or saga (さが) depending on the word.

Words with 探

探査たんさ
探査機たんさき
探偵

Learn 探 in real sentences — free

Read stories and news built from only the kanji you already know. KanjiSchool’s path covers all 2,136 Jōyō kanji — 1,018 ready to learn now.

Start free — no credit card →

Kanji read the same way as 探

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28