比试
bǐ shì · HSK 7
to have a competition
🤺 比 (compare) + 试 (test) = a compare-test, a competition
Two people put their skills side by side (比 = compare, line things up) and put them to the test (试 = try, test). Also used when you hold your hand against something to measure it — comparing sizes by testing the fit.
比 — two 匕 (person) side by side
比 is a pictograph showing two people standing side by side, facing the same direction. From this image of paired figures came the core meaning 'to compare' or 'to be next to,' since comparing things naturally involves placing them alongside each other.
试 — speech radical 讠 (言) + 式 shì
试 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The speech radical 讠 (言, 'words/speech') gives the meaning, since testing originally involved questioning or verbal trial. The right side 式 ('pattern, model') supplies the sound shì. Together they suggest 'to try out by a set method,' yielding senses like test, try, attempt.