Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
考kǎoto beat
耂old form of 老 · lǎoMeaning part
丂part of the characterSound part
Memory aid考 and 老 share the top 耂 and once both meant “old”. Today 考 means to test.
试shìto test
讠speech form of 言 · yánMeaning part
式formula · shìSound part
讠 hints at the meaning (speech); 式 (shì) hints at the sound. Compare it with shì.
How to write 考试
考 6 strokes · 试 8 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 考试 (kǎoshì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
考试 (kǎoshì) means “exam” or “test”. It is an HSK 2 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it kǎoshì: kǎo with a 3rd tone, then shì with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 考试 is written 考試. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 次 (cì). For example, one exam is 一次考试 (yí cì kǎoshì).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type kaoshi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 考试 from the suggestions. Typing kaoshi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
考试 is an HSK 2 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
考kǎo3rd tone, dipping
试shì4th tone, falling
