Several parts combine into one character.

The traditional 驗 is a phonetic-semantic compound: 馬 (horse) plus 僉 (a gathering of many people, "all together"). The original meaning was strikingly literal — "many people together inspecting the quality of a horse before purchase." Horses were expensive; communal verification was essential. From this concrete root, 驗 generalized into "to verify, to test, to confirm by experience." Today, three forms coexist: traditional 驗 (Korea, Taiwan), Japanese shinjitai 験, and Mainland simplified 验.

Korean reading "heom." Always paired with another character to form a compound: 試驗 (siheom, test), 經驗 (gyeongheom, experience), 體驗 (cheheom, first-hand experience), 受驗 (suheom, taking an exam), 靈驗 (yeongheom, miraculous efficacy). 驗 itself is never used alone.

Mandarin yàn, 4th tone (simplified 验). 试验 (shìyàn, experiment), 经验 (jīngyàn, experience), 验证 (yànzhèng, to verify), 检验 (jiǎnyàn, inspection). Strongly associated with scientific and procedural verification in modern usage.

Japanese on-reading ケン powers a constellation of education-related terms central to student life: 試験 (shiken, examination), 経験 (keiken, experience), 体験 (taiken, first-hand experience), and most importantly 受験 (juken, taking an entrance exam). 受験 is one of the most charged words in Japanese youth culture — the word evokes "examination hell," cram schools, and the entire ecosystem of high-stakes university entrance.

Memory aid: a horse (馬) being inspected by a crowd (僉) — verification by collective scrutiny.