试卷
shì juàn · HSK 4
examination paper
📝 试 = test + 卷 = scroll/roll — a rolled-up test paper
试 (shì) means test or try; 卷 (juàn) originally meant a rolled scroll and now covers booklets, exam papers, and rolled items. Together: the booklet you fill out during a test.
试 — speech radical 讠 (言) + 式 shì
试 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The speech radical 讠 (言, 'words/speech') gives the meaning, since testing originally involved questioning or verbal trial. The right side 式 ('pattern, model') supplies the sound shì. Together they suggest 'to try out by a set method,' yielding senses like test, try, attempt.
卷 — 卷 = 龹 (top, hands rolling) + 㔾 (kneeling person)
Originally depicted hands rolling something up over a bent figure, suggesting the act of curling or rolling. The core sense 'to roll up' extended to 'scroll' (rolled documents) and 'volume' of a book. By sound extension it also means 'curly' and serves as a measure word for scrolls or exam papers.