สืบหา

Explanation

สืบหา combines สืบ, “to investigate or follow clues,” with หา, “to look for.” It describes more than simply looking around for something visible. It suggests collecting information, making inquiries, or following clues to locate a person or determine a fact, cause, or truth. The focus is often on the investigative effort, so it does not necessarily imply that the target was successfully found. Common patterns include สืบหาตัว for tracking down a person, สืบหาสาเหตุ for determining a cause, and สืบหาความจริง for uncovering the truth. It can occur in ordinary language but is especially common in police, news, and official contexts.

Usage

It is commonly used when police track down a suspect or missing person, journalists investigate facts or someone's whereabouts, or officials try to determine the cause of an accident or problem. It can also describe tracing an address, an owner, or an old acquaintance from available clues.

Caution

For an ordinary search, such as looking for keys or glasses in a room, use หา. Using สืบหา there would sound overly investigative. Also, สืบหา describes the attempt to trace or determine something and does not by itself mean that the search succeeded.

1 search for through investigation synonyms

• ค้นหา

  khón hǎa search for

  ค้นหา is a broad term for searching for people, objects, or information and is commonly used for online searches. สืบหา is more closely associated with inquiry and investigative searching.

• ตามหา

  taam hǎa look for (someone or something missing)

  ตามหา emphasizes actively looking around for a missing person or object. สืบหา places more emphasis on investigating clues to establish a location or fact.

• หา

  hǎa look for

  หา is the general verb for looking for something or someone. สืบหา specifically suggests gathering information or following clues as part of the search.