复试 (fù shì) — to sit for the second round of a two-stage exam or interview

Definition

复试 (fùshì) is the second-round exam or interview that follows the initial 初试 — the final hurdle in a two-stage selection process.

verb
to sit for the second round of a two-stage exam or interview
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，复试。
    Wǒ tōng guò le chū shì, xià zhōu yào qù fù shì.
    I passed the first round and need to go for the second round next week.
  • 复试，。
    fù shì De shí hou, lǎo shī wèn le hěn duō zhuān yè wèn tí.
    During the second-round exam, the teacher asked many professional questions.
  • ，复试。
    Zhè cì miàn shì yǒu liǎng lún, fù shì shì zuì hòu yì guān.
    This interview has two rounds; the second round is the final hurdle.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

复fùsecond
试shìexam

复 gives the sense of a second round, and 试 gives an exam.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 復; 复 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 复 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (复习, 恢复) it is 復; in others (复印, 复杂) (答复, 反复) it is 複 or 覆.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彳彳chìwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
复
复fù復fù
Same sound today

The traditional form 復 combines 彳, a walking part, with 复, a sound part, to show walking back and forth.

Open 复 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 試; 试 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
式
式shì試shì
Same sound today

The traditional form 試 puts 言 beside 式, and 式 gives the sound; the simplified 试 is the form of this character.

Open 试 →

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