试 (shì): to try

Meanings

1 to try
2 to test

Characters

试

shì

to try; to test; to experiment

Speech radical 讠 on the left - originally meant to test through questioning

Examples

HSK 1

你试一下这个菜。

Nǐ shì yíxià zhè ge cài.

Try this dish.

HSK 1

不试试怎么知道行不行？

Bú shìshì zěnme zhīdào xíng bù xíng?

How will you know if it works without giving it a try?

HSK 2

我想试试这件衣服。

Wǒ xiǎng shìshi zhè jiàn yīfu.

I'd like to try on this piece of clothing.

Tips

grammar

试试 is a common reduplication meaning 'give it a try.' Verb reduplication softens the tone and makes it sound more casual.

Components

radical

讠 yán

speech (radical form of 言)

Speech radical on the left grounds 试 in the verbal-testing tradition: examiners questioning candidates aloud, the imperial 试 exams. Same radical sits in 评 evaluate, 议 deliberate, 诉 to plead. Talking-then-checking is the original mode of 试 - speech turned into trial.

phonetic

式 shì

form; pattern; ceremony

Right side is 式 'form, pattern, formula', supplying the sound exactly: shì matches shì. It also leaks meaning - a 试 is a check against a standard 式, a measuring of someone's words against a fixed pattern. Compounds: 考试 exam, 试验 experiment, 尝试 to attempt, 测试 to test.