试图
shìtú · HSK 5
try
🎯 试 = test/try + 图 = plan/diagram; literally 'try-plan' = attempt
试 (try, as in 考试 exam) plus 图 (plan, scheme, as in 图谋). The compound 'try-plan' means to set about doing something — attempting with intent, not just random effort.
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.
图 — enclosure 囗 + 冬 (simplified from 啚)
Originally written 圖, showing an enclosure 囗 around 啚, a depiction of a granary or rural settlement on a map. The whole character meant a map or chart of demarcated territory. Meaning later broadened to picture, diagram, or to plan/scheme.