考研 kǎoyán to take the graduate school entrance exam Origin Definitions Defs Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 考 kǎo abbreviation of 报考 報考 bàokǎo to register for an exam to sign up or register to take an examination; to enter oneself for an entrance exam研 yán noun abbreviation of 研究生 yánjiūshēng graduate student graduate student; postgraduate student; a student pursuing a master's or doctoral degree