验

• Pinyin: yàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 验 = 马 (horse — originally 騐, evaluating a horse's merit) + 佥 (all/together — collective scrutiny); the simplified form retains the core idea of rigorous examination

Meaning

To test; to examine; to verify; to check whether something meets an expected standard. Often appears as a verb root in compound words.

Rarely used alone at the HSK 7-9 level — most commonly appears in compounds: 验收 (acceptance inspection), 验证 (verification), 检验 (testing/inspection), 化验 (lab test), 验血 (blood test), 实验 (experiment). The core sense is testing against a standard to confirm or disprove.

Examples

1. 质检人员对这批进口食品进行了全面验货，重点检查了产品的保质期标注、包装完整性和防伪标识的真实性。 Quality inspectors conducted a thorough inspection of this shipment of imported food, focusing on the labeled expiration dates, the integrity of the packaging, and the authenticity of the anti-counterfeiting labels.
2. 法庭上，控方律师逐一验证了关键证人的陈述与物证之间的逻辑关联，使辩方的核心论点陷入了难以自圆其说的困境。 In court, the prosecutor methodically verified the logical links between key witness statements and the physical evidence, leaving the defense’s core argument unable to justify itself.
3. 在临床推广之前，任何新型医疗器械都必须经过大量严格的动物实验和多阶段人体临床试验，以充分验证其安全性和有效性。 Before any clinical rollout, a new medical device must undergo extensive, rigorous animal testing and multi-phase human clinical trials to fully verify its safety and effectiveness.

Usage Guide

Context: science, medicine, quality control, law, engineering

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 研究团队通过大量对照实验，反复检验了这一理论模型在不同边界条件下的适用性，最终确认其核心假设在特定参数范围内具有较强的预测力。(The research team repeatedly tested the applicability of this theoretical model under different boundary conditions through extensive controlled experiments, ultimately confirming that its core assumptions have strong predictive power within a specific parameter range.)
• 海关对这批货物进行了严格检查，发现部分商品的成分标注与实际检测结果存在明显出入，当即予以扣押并启动了进一步的调查程序。(Customs conducted a rigorous inspection of this shipment and found significant discrepancies between the ingredient labelling on some goods and the actual test results; the goods were immediately impounded and further investigation procedures were initiated.)

Don't Say

• 我验了你说的话 — 验 as a standalone verb sounds incomplete in standard Mandarin; use 我核实了你说的话 or 我验证了你所说的内容 with a compound form

Origin & History

验 = 马 (horse — originally 騐, testing a horse's quality) + 佥 (all/together — collective examination); simplified to 验

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal