考验
kǎoyàn · HSK 3
test
📝 考验 = 考 (test/exam) + 验 (verify/check)
考 is the same character as in 考试 (exam), and 验 means to verify or inspect (as in 经验 experience, 检验 inspect). Together they form a compound meaning a test or trial that proves something.
考 — old 老 (top) + 丂 phonetic
Originally written like 老 ('old'), 考 depicted an elderly person with long hair leaning on a cane, and the two characters were once interchangeable. Over time 考 specialized to mean 'deceased father' and later 'to examine, test, investigate,' with the bottom 丂 hinting at the sound.
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.