经验

• Pinyin: jīng yàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 经 = 纟 (silk) + 巠 (phonetic), meaning to pass through; 验 = 马 (horse) + 佥 (all, phonetic), originally meaning to inspect or test

Meaning

Experience; practical knowledge gained through practice. The wisdom and skills accumulated from past activities.

Unlike 经历 (the events themselves), 经验 emphasises the knowledge, skills, and lessons learned. Commonly used in professional contexts: 工作经验 (work experience), 教学经验 (teaching experience). Can also be used as an adjective in the form 有经验的 (experienced).

Examples

1. 她有十年的教学经验。 She has ten years of teaching experience.
2. 这次失败给了我很多经验。 This failure gave me a lot of experience.
3. 你有没有做饭的经验？ Do you have any cooking experience?

Usage Guide

Context: work, learning, professional

Tone: practical

Do Say

• 他是一个很有经验的医生。(He is a very experienced doctor.)
• 我想学习你的经验。(I want to learn from your experience.)

Don't Say

• 我去日本旅游的经验很好。(For a travel event, use 经历 not 经验 — say 我去日本旅游的经历很好. 经验 is for practical knowledge, not events.)

Origin & History

Compound of 经 (to pass through) and 验 (to test, to verify). Together: knowledge gained by passing through and testing — practical experience.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal