掘开 (jué kāi) — to unearth, to dig open (something buried)

Definition

verb
to unearthto dig open (something buried)

Examples

  • 掘开，。
    Gōng rén men jué kāi dì miàn, fā xiàn le yì tiáo guǎn dào.
    The workers dug open the ground and found a pipeline.
  • 掘开，。
    Kǎo gǔ xué jiā jué kāi gǔ mù, zhǎo dào le hěn duō wén wù.
    The archaeologists unearthed the ancient tomb and found many artifacts.
  • 掘开，。
    Nóng mín men jué kāi dòng tǔ, zhǔn bèi bō zhòng.
    The farmers dug open the frozen soil, preparing to sow seeds.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

掘juédig
开kāiopen

掘 means to dig, and 开 gives the sense that the dug thing becomes open.

Characters in this word

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 開; 开 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 一一yīlatch and/or wooden pole that shuts a door
  • 廾廾gǒnga pair of hands

The traditional form 開 shows 廾, a pair of hands, and 一, a latch or pole, inside 門, a door: hands opening a latched door. The simplified 开 is a shorthand form, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 开 →

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