HSK 3 · Verbs

试 shì “to try” in Chinese

Traditional 試

What 试 means

  1. to try
  2. to test
  3. examination
  4. experiment

How to say 试

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale试shì4th tone, falling

试 in a sentence

  1. 我们试了三次，都失败了。

    Wǒmen shì le sān cì, dōu shībài le.

    We tried three times and failed every time.

    Sentence #5983607 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我已经试过那个了。

    Wǒ yǐjīng shìguo nà ge le.

    I’ve already tried that.

    Sentence #4620857 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 他们正在准备考试。

    Tāmen zhèngzài zhǔnbèi kǎoshì.

    They’re preparing for the exam.

    Sentence #6452018 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 试 is built

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.

The character 试 (shì) with each of its parts in a different colour
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 试

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.

试 (shì) stroke order chart: each stroke of the character in the order you write it
Stroke order chart for 试 (shì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 试

Words with 试

考试kǎoshì · exam试卷shìjuàn · examination paper尝试chángshì · to try试图shìtú · to attempt试验shìyàn · test

More words: Common Verbs

起来qǐlai · beginning or continuing an action请假qǐngjià · to ask for time off上网shàngwǎng · to surf the web生气shēngqì · angry刷牙shuāyá · brush one’s teeth提高tígāo · to raise忘记wàngjì · forget洗澡xǐzǎo · bathe

FAQs

试 (shì) means “to try” or “to test”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it shì: 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, 试 is written 試. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type shi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 试 from the suggestions. Typing shi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
试 is an HSK 3 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

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.