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Both 试验 and 实验 seems to be translated into "experiment". What is the difference between the two words? Can they be used interchangeably or not?

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I thought you were native Chinese born and raised near Beijing? On Baidu there are many pages explaining the difference. – BertR May 25 '12 at 12:56
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Anyone can propose a question here even he knows the answer already, as long as the question can benefit the community. This site is a little quiet now and I think more such questions are welcomed,at least in my opinion. – Huang May 25 '12 at 14:33
Well said, Huang! – Alenanno♦ May 25 '12 at 21:37
@BertR I am a native. But one day I came cross this I had to reference a dictionary. So I think this would benefit the learners also. – fefe May 26 '12 at 3:27

3 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

实验 is used for operations and activities done to test a scientific theory or hypothesis. An example: 经过反复实验，证明这一结论是正确的

试验 is used to inspect the function or effect of some physical thing (something that already exists). It's typically done in some lab. Some examples:

  • 新农药要经过反复试验才能推广
  • 试验新机器
  • 新办法试验后推广
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up vote 1 down vote

I feel that "试" in 试验 means trying something new in the process of exploration. "实" in 实验 means doing something practical, which can be new or not.

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up vote 0 down vote

Simply put:

实验 - An experiment

试验 - A trial

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