査察
ささつ
noun, suru verb
inspection (official); on-site audit
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 査察する | 査察しない |
| Present polite | 査察します | 査察しません |
| Past | 査察した | 査察しなかった |
| Past polite | 査察しました | 査察しませんでした |
| て form | 査察して | 査察しなくて |
| ている present | 査察している | 査察していない |
| ている polite | 査察しています | 査察していません |
| ている past | 査察していた | 査察していなかった |
| ている past polite | 査察していました | 査察していませんでした |
| Conditional ば | 査察すれば | 査察しなければ |
| Conditional たら | 査察したら | 査察しなかったら |
| Volitional | 査察しよう | — |
| Volitional polite | 査察しましょう | — |
| Potential | 査察できる | 査察できない |
| Passive | 査察される | 査察されない |
| Causative | 査察させる | 査察させない |
| Imperative | 査察しろ | 査察するな |
1.
(official) inspection; on-site inspection; audit
A formal, on-site check conducted by an authority to verify compliance with laws, regulations, treaties, or internal rules. Typical contexts include tax audits by the National Tax Agency, nuclear non-proliferation inspections by the IAEA, workplace safety inspections, and internal-audit visits by a company headquarters to a branch. The nuance is of an authority coming in to look, not merely reviewing documents from afar.
Compound of 査 ('investigate; examine') and 察 ('observe; perceive'). Used as a verbal noun with する (査察する 'to inspect'), but the noun form with verbs like 入る, 行う, 受ける is far more common.
Usage
- The inspecting side: 査察を行う / 実施する ('to carry out an inspection').
- The inspected side: 査察を受ける ('to be inspected'), 査察が入る ('to have inspectors come in' — idiomatic, often about tax audits).
- Reserved for official, legally grounded inspections. For casual 'checking' use 点検 ('routine check') or 検査 ('examination'); for a quiet investigation use 調査.
Common collocations
- 査察を受ける: to be inspected
- 査察が入る: for inspectors to arrive (often used of tax raids)
- 査察を行う: to conduct an inspection
- 査察を実施する: to carry out an inspection
- 抜き打ち査察: unannounced inspection
- 税務査察: tax audit
- 査察官: inspector (official title)
- 査察チーム: inspection team
Similar words
- 検査: examination; inspection — broader; includes medical tests, product quality checks, and routine inspections. 査察 specifically implies a regulatory on-site visit.
- 監査: audit — typically financial/document review; can be on-site but the focus is books and records.
- 点検: routine check; inspection — self-inspection or maintenance check.
- 調査: investigation; survey — research-oriented, not enforcement-oriented.
Cultural note
In news headlines, 査察 often evokes either 税務査察 (tax raids on suspected tax evaders, famously dramatized in the film 'A Taxing Woman' / マルサの女) or IAEA nuclear inspections of North Korea and Iran.
Related Words
Compare:
検査 (examination)
Compare:
監査 (audit)
Compare:
点検 (routine check)
Compare:
調査 (investigation)