verb / noun HSK 4
Traditional 體驗
yán
to experience · to taste (figuratively) · experience

Meaning

体验 means to personally go through or try something in order to gain direct knowledge or feeling about it. It emphasizes the firsthand, sensory, or emotional nature of an experience rather than just knowing about it intellectually. As a noun, it refers to the experience itself that one gains through direct participation.

Usage

体验 is commonly used in marketing, education, and tourism contexts to emphasize hands-on or immersive experiences. It often appears with 生活 (life), 文化 (culture), or activities like 体验课 (trial class). More refined than simply 经历 (to go through), it suggests intentional engagement to understand something better.

Examples

  1. 01
    我想体验一下农村生活。
    xiǎng yàn xià nóng cūn shēng huó.
    I want to experience rural life.
  2. 02
    这次旅行给了我很特别的体验
    Zhè xíng gěi le hěn bié de yàn.
    This trip gave me a very special experience.

Characters

Measure words

  • 一次难忘的体验
  • zhǒng一种新的体验

Common collocations

  • 体验生活
    yàn shēng huó
    to experience life
  • 体验
    yàn
    trial class
  • 用户体验
    yòng yàn
    user experience
  • 亲身体验
    qīn shēn yàn
    to experience personally/firsthand

Antonyms

Origin

The word combines 体 (body/embodiment) with 验 (to test/verify), suggesting knowledge gained through bodily engagement and testing rather than abstract learning.

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