演练
yǎn liàn · HSK 7
practice
🎭 演 perform/act + 练 train = rehearse and train, i.e. a drill
演 carries the sense of performing or rehearsing, and 练 means to train or drill. Put together, 演练 is running through something as a rehearsal to practice it, like a fire drill.
演 — water 氵 + 寅 (yín, phonetic)
演 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the water radical 氵 gives the meaning, originally referring to water flowing far and spreading out, while 寅 supplies the sound. From 'water extending' it broadened to 'develop, elaborate, perform,' as in unfolding a story or acting out a play.
练 — silk radical 纟 + 柬 (select)
练 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The silk radical 纟 gives the meaning, originally referring to boiling raw silk to soften and whiten it. 柬 (jiǎn, 'to select') supplies the sound. From the idea of repeatedly processing silk, the meaning extended to 'practice, train, drill'.