采访

• Pinyin: cǎi fǎng
• Hanzi breakdown: 采 = 爫 (hand/claw) + 木 (tree) — to pick, to gather; 访 = 讠(speech) + 方 (direction, phonetic) — to visit, to inquire

Meaning

To interview; an interview. Used for journalistic interviews where a reporter gathers information.

Primarily used in media and journalism contexts. The interviewer is called 采访者 or 记者, and the subject is 被采访者. Can be used as both verb (采访某人) and noun (一次采访). Different from 面试, which is a job interview.

Examples

1. 记者采访了这位著名的科学家。 The reporter interviewed this famous scientist.
2. 她第一次接受电视台的采访，有点紧张。 It was her first time being interviewed by a TV station, so she was a bit nervous.
3. 这篇报道是经过深入采访后写成的。 This report was written after in-depth interviews.

Usage Guide

Context: media, journalism, news

Tone: professional

Do Say

• 记者想采访你几个问题。(The reporter would like to interview you about a few questions.)
• 这次采访让我了解了很多新信息。(This interview helped me learn a lot of new information.)

Don't Say

• 用'采访'来指工作面试 (Don't use 采访 for a job interview — that's 面试; 采访 is specifically for journalistic or media interviews)

Origin & History

采 originally meant 'to pick' or 'to gather' (a hand picking from a tree); 访 means 'to visit' or 'to seek'. Together they mean 'to gather information by visiting', which became the standard word for journalistic interviews.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal