How to Write 验 (yàn) — Meaning “To verify; to test”

Imagine a horse (马) that needs to be tested by a group of people (佥) before a race. This picture helps you link the left side (horse) to the right side (many people) and the idea of verification. The visual of a horse surrounded by inspectors makes the meaning 'to verify' stick.

The left radical 马 is written with 3 strokes: horizontal, vertical fold, horizontal, and it should be narrow and tall. The right part 佥 has 7 strokes and is wider; be careful not to make the three horizontal lines inside too close together. A common mistake is to make the right side too small or to misplace the top 'person' component (人).

验 (yàn) means 'to test/verify', 驵 (zǎng) is a rare character referring to a good horse or a horse trader, and 驶 (shǐ) means 'to drive' a vehicle or sail a boat. Visually, 验 has 佥 on the right, 驵 has 且, and 驶 has 史 — each right side gives a different sound and meaning. In usage, 验 is common in words like 实验 (experiment), while 驶 appears in 驾驶 (drive).

验 appears frequently in daily and academic words such as 实验 (experiment), 经验 (experience), and 验证 (verification). In Chinese culture, 经验 (experience) is deeply respected, often seen as accumulated wisdom from practice. You will encounter this character in science, work, and even in phrases like 考验 (test, trial) to describe life challenges.

Common words containing 验 include: 实验 (shí yàn) — Experiment.; 经验 (jīng yàn) — Experience.; 验证 (yàn zhèng) — To verify; verification.