查询 (chá xún) is a compound verb meaning 'to look up' or 'to query'—especially information from a database, system, website, or official record. The first character 查 (chá) means 'to examine' or 'to investigate', while 询 (xún) means 'to ask' or 'to inquire'. Together, they convey the idea of actively seeking specific information by searching or questioning a source. It’s commonly used in digital and administrative contexts: checking bank balances, tracking packages, verifying IDs, or searching library catalogs.

This word is formal and neutral in register—frequent in written Chinese, customer service, and tech interfaces—but less common in casual speech, where simpler verbs like 找 (zhǎo, 'to look for') or 看 (kàn, 'to look at') may be preferred. 查询 is typically transitive and requires an object (e.g., 查询订单, 查询天气), and it often appears in imperative or past-tense constructions (e.g., 请查询, 已查询).