试行

• Pinyin: shì xíng
• Hanzi breakdown: 试 = 言 + 式 (to try — to speak/act in a measured, tentative form); 行 = to go, to carry out (movement and execution)

Meaning

To pilot; to implement on a trial basis. To put a policy, regulation, or system into practice on an experimental basis before formal rollout.

Used almost exclusively for the formal piloting of official measures, regulations, or systems — not for personal experimentation. Common collocations: 试行方案 (pilot scheme), 先行试行 (pilot first), 试行阶段 (pilot phase), 试行期满 (upon expiry of the trial period). Contrast: 尝试 (to try — personal, informal), 实行 (to implement — full implementation), 推行 (to roll out — to push for wider adoption).

Examples

1. 新修订的个人数据保护法规将先在三个经济特区试行，待收集充分的实施反馈并进行必要修订后，再向全国范围推广。 The newly revised personal data protection regulations will first be piloted in three special economic zones; after gathering sufficient feedback and making necessary revisions, they will be rolled out nationwide.
2. 教育部宣布将在部分省份试行综合素质评价改革，探索以多元指标替代单一考试成绩作为高校录取参考的可行路径。 The Ministry of Education announced it will pilot a comprehensive student evaluation reform in some provinces, exploring whether multiple indicators can feasibly replace a single test score as a reference for college admissions.
3. 这套弹性工时制度已在公司研发部门试行六个月，员工满意度和项目完成率均有明显提升，管理层决定将其逐步推广至全集团。 This flexible-hours system has been piloted in the company’s R&D department for six months; both employee satisfaction and project completion rates have improved significantly, so management has decided to gradually expand it across the entire group.

Usage Guide

Context: policy, government, administration, regulation

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 在正式颁布实施前，该项改革措施将先在条件相对成熟的省份试行，以便及时发现并解决执行层面的问题，确保全面推广时政策的平稳落地。(Before formal promulgation and implementation, this reform measure will first be piloted in provinces where conditions are relatively mature, so as to identify and resolve implementation-level issues in a timely manner and ensure a smooth nationwide rollout.)
• 监管机构决定在金融行业试行新的风险披露标准，要求相关机构在试行期间每季度提交合规报告，以便对制度效果进行动态评估。(The regulatory authority decided to pilot new risk disclosure standards in the financial sector, requiring relevant institutions to submit quarterly compliance reports during the trial period to enable dynamic assessment of the system's effectiveness.)

Don't Say

• 试行 for personal or informal attempts — use 尝试 (to try, to have a go) or 试试 (to give it a try); 试行 is reserved for formally piloting institutional systems, policies, or regulations, not individual actions

Origin & History

试 (to try, to test — 言 speech + 式 form) + 行 (to carry out, to implement — to put into motion)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal