补考
bǔ kǎo · HSK 6
to sit for a makeup exam
📝 补 (mend/patch) + 考 (exam) = patch-up exam = makeup test
补 means to mend or supplement (same 补 as in 补习 supplementary study); 考 is the exam character. Together: a supplementary exam to patch a failed or missed one — a resit.
补 — clothes radical 衤 + 甫 (phonetic)
补 is a phono-semantic compound. The left side 衤 (clothes radical) gives the meaning, originally referring to patching or mending clothes. The right side 甫 supplies the sound. From 'mend a garment' the meaning broadened to 'repair, supplement, make up for'.
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.