I have always stuck with [探]{さが}す for "search", but in an anime I heard one of
the characters say

> インターネットを[検索]{けんさく}おねがいしてもいいですか。

I suspect that one of the differences is that 検索 is more likely to be used
when speaking of an internet search. Is that correct? And are there any more
differences between the two words?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-09T21:50:58.143
12517
2013-08-10T03:28:04.133
1575
question
word-choice verbs
Difference between 検索する and 探す
検索 is typically used when searching, or looking up in, or retrieving from some
kind of data store, which these days more often than not is a computer
database or of course the Internet. Translating it as "search" is almost never
wrong (although in a database context it could be "query"). In the example you
give, depending on the level of colloquiality you're shooting for, I'd go with
something like "Could I ask you to do a web search?"

探す is of course a much more general term. As a rule of thumb, when searching
on the net, 検索 would tend to be used to refer to a single search possibly with
particular keywords, whereas 探す in that context (when not being used to mean
"find") would more often indicate a whole process of searching multiple sites
and keywords.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-10T03:28:04.133
12518
2013-08-10T03:28:04.133
12517
answer