试卷

• Pinyin: shì juàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 试 = 讠(speech) + 式 (style, form); 卷 = depicts a hand rolling a scroll

Meaning

Exam paper; test paper.

Refers to the physical or digital document containing questions for an examination. Used in school, university, and professional certification contexts. Can refer to both blank test papers and completed ones.

Examples

1. 老师正在批改学生的试卷。 The teacher is grading the students' exam papers.
2. 这次考试的试卷比上次难多了。 This exam paper was much harder than the last one.
3. 请大家把试卷翻到第二页。 Everyone, please turn to the second page of the test paper.

Usage Guide

Context: education, exams

Tone: academic

Do Say

• 考试结束后，请把试卷交到前面来。(After the exam, please hand in your test papers to the front.)
• 他拿到试卷一看，发现题目都很简单。(He looked at the exam paper and found the questions were all easy.)

Don't Say

• 老师给了我们一份试卷当作业。(Don't use 试卷 for homework sheets — use 练习题 or 作业 instead; 试卷 implies a formal exam.)

Origin & History

Compound of 试 (to test, to try) and 卷 (scroll, paper roll), literally 'test scroll' — from the traditional format of written examinations.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal