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挖掘 (wā jué) — to excavate; to dig; to unearth

Definition

挖掘 is 'to excavate / to unearth', used for large-scale digging and, figuratively, for uncovering hidden things like talent or truth. Stronger and more formal than 挖; close to 发掘 but applies beyond archaeology (mines, tunnels, information).

verb
to excavateto digto unearth

Examples

  • 挖掘。
    Gōng rén men zhèng zài wā jué yì tiáo suì dào.
    The workers are excavating a tunnel.
  • 挖掘。
    Tā men cóng kuàng shān zhōng wā jué le dà liàng kuàng shí.
    They excavated a large amount of ore from the mine.
  • 挖掘。
    Jì zhě tōng guò diào chá wā jué chū le shì shí zhēn xiàng.
    The journalist unearthed the truth through investigation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

挖wādig
掘juédig

“挖” and “掘” both mean to dig, together giving a stronger sense of digging.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 挖 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand; action
Sound part声符shēngfú
屈
屈qū掘jué
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

掘 uses 扌 to show an action done with the hand, and 屈 to give the sound.

Open 掘 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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