训练
xùnliàn · HSK 3
training
🏋️ 训 = instruct + 练 = practice → training
训 (instruct, with 言 speech radical) plus 练 (practice/drill, with 纟 silk radical, originally meaning to refine silk). Together: instruct-and-drill, i.e. training.
训 — speech radical 讠 (言) + river 川
A semantic-phonetic compound. The 讠 (speech) radical gives the meaning—words used to teach or instruct—while 川 (river) suggests the phonetic and the image of guiding flow. Together 训 means to instruct, admonish, or train, as in channeling someone with words.
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'.