验
yàn · HSK 7
to examine
🔍 Left side is 马 horse: you examine and test a horse before you trust it
The traditional form 驗 carries the 马 horse radical. A buyer checks a horse's teeth and gait to test it, so 验 means to examine, test, or check. Sound yan rhymes with the start of yander, a watchful checking glance.
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.