测试
cèshì · HSK 4
test
📝 测 = measure/gauge + 试 = try/attempt → a measured trial
测 carries the water radical 氵 and means to measure or survey; 试 combines 言 (speech) with 式 (form/method), meaning to try. Together: a measured attempt — a test.
测 — water radical 氵 + 则 (rule/standard)
测 combines the water radical 氵, hinting at meaning, with 则 (rule, standard), which also supplies the sound. Originally it referred to gauging the depth of water, then broadened to mean measuring, surveying, or testing in general.
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.