练习
liànxí · HSK 2
practice
📝 练 = train/refine silk + 习 = repeat/study; together: drill skills
练 originally meant to boil and soften raw silk (refining through repetition); 习 depicts wings flapping (a bird practicing flight). Combined, 练习 captures the sense of refining a skill through repeated effort.
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'.