The Meaning of shinsa [審査] In Japanese

審査
しんさ
Romaji: shinsa N3

What does 審査 mean?

Translation and Meaning

inspection, screening, examination, assessment, review

Definition

審査 refers to the formal process of evaluating something against defined standards to determine quality, eligibility, or compliance.

Type

Noun (suru-verb)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • Formal evaluation in administrative, legal, or regulatory contexts, such as licenses, permits, or compliance checks.
  • Screening of applications, entrants, or submissions in admissions, competitions, or job processes.
  • Quality-control review of products, services, or processes to decide pass/fail or certification.
  • Judgment or decision-making by a panel or committee based on evidence and criteria.

Etymology

etymology shinsa is formed from the kanji 審 and 査, whose common on’yomi readings combine to produce the noun; the phonetic form reflects Sino-Japanese influence and the standard pronunciation uses the on-reading sequence rather than native readings.

Origin

審査 has appeared in Japanese governance and society since early eras of organized administration; from the adoption of modern bureaucratic systems in the Meiji period, the term expanded across education, industry, and media to cover admissions, licensing, auditing, and contest judging.

Composition

  • 審: to judge, examine; sense of careful consideration
  • 査: to investigate, inspect; sense of verification
  • Combined meaning: a formal evaluation conducted to determine acceptability against criteria

Usage

Used primarily as a noun for the act or process of evaluation; in practice it occurs in official applications, examinations, and quality control, as well as in recruiting and media classifications; expressions include 審査する, 審査員, 審査基準.
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: picture a judge (審) with a checklist (査); say shin-sa quickly to trigger the idea of close review.

Variations

  • 審査 (screening, evaluation) – shinsa
  • 検査 (inspection, examination) – kensa
  • 査定 (appraisal) – santei
  • 審判 (judgment, referee) – shinpan

Example Phrases

  • 就職 の 審査 が 来週 ある ので 書類 を 整えている。
    Shūshoku no shinsa ga raishū aru node shorui o totonoete iru.
    The employment screening is next week, so I am getting the documents ready.
    Lista:
    • 就職 (Shūshoku) – getting a job
    • の (no) – possessive/of
    • 審査 (shinsa) – screening
    • が (ga) – subject marker
    • 来週 (raishū) – next week
    • ある (aru) – to be / there is
    • ので (node) – because / so
    • 書類 (shorui) – documents
    • を (o) – object marker
    • 整えている (totonoete iru) – are preparing / organizing
    Here 「審査」 means ‘screening’; in 就職の審査 it forms the compound ’employment screening’, and ので expresses cause.
審査