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HSK 2

考试

exam; to take an exam

nounneutral
考
kǎo3rd tone
试
shì4th tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
kǎoshì
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 2
Strokes
14
Register
neutral
Measure word
次 / 场

Stroke order for 考试

考试 is written with 14 strokes (考: 6, 试: 8). The animation replays automatically.

What does 考试 mean?

考试 (kǎoshì) means both 'exam' (the noun) and 'to take an exam' (the verb-object compound).

It's a separable verb-object construction: 考 ('to test') + 试 ('a trial / test'). To say 'take an exam' you can use 考试 directly (我明天考试 'I have an exam tomorrow') or split it for an object — 考一个试 ('take a test'), 考英语试 is wrong; instead say 考英语 or 英语考试. Closely related: 考 alone is the active verb 'to take a test in / to test someone' — 考英语 ('take an English exam'), 老师考我们 ('the teacher tests us').

Exams shape Chinese student life: 高考 (gāokǎo) is the national college entrance exam, 中考 the high-school entrance one, 期末考试 the final exam. To pass is 通过考试 or 考过; to fail is 不及格 or 没考过. The character 考 also means 'to consider / examine' (考虑 'consider').

Character by character

考kǎoto test; to examine
+
试shìto try; a trial; a test
=
考试

Memory hook: 考 (test) + 试 (try) — a 'testing trial.' Both characters mean a kind of test, doubled to nail down the meaning.

Example sentences

我明天有考试。

Wǒ míngtiān yǒu kǎoshì.

I have an exam tomorrow.

neutral

这次考试很难。

Zhè cì kǎoshì hěn nán.

This exam was very hard.

spoken

我要好好准备考试。

Wǒ yào hǎohǎo zhǔnbèi kǎoshì.

I'm going to prepare for the exam well.

neutral

他通过了考试。

Tā tōngguò le kǎoshì.

He passed the exam.

neutral

Common phrases with 考试

参加考试cānjiā kǎoshìto take part in an exam
准备考试zhǔnbèi kǎoshìto prepare for an exam
通过考试tōngguò kǎoshìto pass an exam
期末考试qīmò kǎoshìfinal exam
考试成绩kǎoshì chéngjìexam result; grade

Synonyms

测验cèyàn

测验 is 'a quiz / test' — usually shorter and lower-stakes than 考试. A weekly classroom quiz is 测验; a midterm or final is 考试.

考kǎo

考 alone is the active verb 'to test / to take an exam in.' 考英语 = 'take an English exam.' 考试 is the full noun-verb form for 'have / take an exam.'

Don't confuse 考试 with

考虑kǎolǜ

考虑 means 'to consider / think over.' Same first character 考 (to examine) but different meaning. 我考虑一下 = 'let me think it over'; 我考试 = 'I take an exam.'

试shì

试 alone means 'to try / to test out' something — 试一下 ('give it a try'). It doesn't mean 'exam' on its own; it needs 考 in front to become 考试.

复习fùxí

复习 is 'to review / revise' — what you do BEFORE 考试. Beginners sometimes say 复习考试 thinking it means 'study for the exam'; the natural phrase is 准备考试 or 复习功课.

FAQ

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