实验

The Chinese word 实验 (shíyàn) is composed of two characters: 实 (shí) and 验 (yàn). The character 实 originally meant "real" or "true", and was often used in contrast to the character 虚 (xū), which meant "empty" or "false". Over time, the meaning of 实 expanded to include the idea of "experiment" or "test", as in the phrase 实验证明 (shíyàn zhèngmíng), which means "proven by experiment". The character 验 originally meant "to examine" or "to inspect", and was often used in the context of legal proceedings or medical diagnoses. Over time, the meaning of 验 expanded to include the idea of "experiment" or "test", as in the phrase 验收 (yànshōu), which means "acceptance inspection". The combination of the characters 实 and 验 in the word 实验 (shíyàn) thus conveys the idea of "experiment" or "test", as in the phrase 实验结果 (shíyàn jiéguǒ), which means "experimental results".