化验
huà yàn · HSK 7
laboratory test
🧪 化 (chemistry) + 验 (test/examine) = a chemical examination, i.e. a lab test
化 carries the chemistry sense seen in 化学 (chemistry); 验 means to test or examine, as in 检验 and 实验. Together they name the chemical testing done on a sample in a lab.
化 — person 亻 + spoon/upside-down person 匕
化 is an associative compound showing a standing person 亻 next to 匕, originally a depiction of a person turned upside-down. Together they suggest a figure transforming from one state to another, giving the core meaning 'change' or 'transform'. The character later extended to senses like 'convert', 'influence', and the noun suffix '-ization'.
验 — horse radical 马 + 佥 (all/together)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The horse radical 马 originally referred to inspecting horses, while 佥 (qiān, 'all together') supplied the sound. Over time the meaning broadened from 'examine a horse' to 'test, examine, verify' in general.