卷子

juànzi
noun HSK 7-9 #21,365

Meanings

  1. 1 exam paper; test paper
  2. 2 roll; scroll

Characters

Exam papers were historically rolled scrolls - (roll) + suffix.

Examples

HSK 2
Kǎoshì shíjiān dào le, qǐng jiāo juànzi.
Time's up, please hand in your test papers.
HSK 2
Zhècì de juànzi tèbié nán.
This time the exam paper was especially hard.
HSK 4
Lǎoshī zhèngzài pīgǎi juànzi.
The teacher is grading exam papers.

Tips

usage
In Chinese student culture, (literally 'to roll') has become viral slang meaning 'to compete intensely' or 'rat race.' 内卷 ('involution') describes the exhausting cycle of everyone working harder just to stay in the same place. A person who studies obsessively is called 卷王 ('rolling king').

Stroke Order

juǎn