liàn

to practice

to train; to drill; to perfect (one's skill); exercise; (literary) white silk; to boil and scour raw silk

silk (纟) + phonetic (柬) = to practice and refine

The silk radical grounds the character in its original meaning: processing raw silk by boiling and working it smooth. From that physical repetition came the broader sense of drilling any skill to refinement.

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A cardPhonetic
Silk threadSemantic

Words with 练

间歇训练

jiàn xiē xùn liàn

interval training

陪练

péi liàn

training partner

修练

xiū liàn

to practice (an activity)

光说不练

guāng shuō bù liàn

all talk and no action (idiom)

凝练

níng liàn

concise

创练

chuàng liàn

to form and train (a military unit)

勤学苦练

qín xué kǔ liàn

to study diligently

半熟练

bàn shú liàn

semiskilled

团练

tuán liàn

local militia formed to suppress peasant rebellion (old)

在职训练

zài zhí xùn liàn

on-the-job training

外展训练

wài zhǎn xùn liàn

outdoor education program

干练

gàn liàn

capable and experienced

More characters with 纟

绿