掩埋 (yǎn mái) — to bury (in the ground) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal verb meaning 'to bury (in the ground),' used for covering things over with earth — as in the disposal of waste or the burial of bodies. More formal than the everyday 埋, and stronger than 埋's general sense of 'hiding/covering something.'

verb

to bury (in the ground)

Examples

掩埋。
Gōng rén men bǎ lā jī yǎn mái zài shēn kēng lǐ.
The workers buried the trash in a deep pit.
掩埋。
Kǎo gǔ xué jiā zài yí zhǐ zhōng yǎn mái le xǔ duō gǔ dài wén wù.
Archaeologists buried many ancient artifacts at the site.
，掩埋。
Dì zhèn hòu, jiù yuán duì nǔ lì yǎn mái yù nàn zhě de yí tǐ.
After the earthquake, rescue teams worked hard to bury the victims' bodies.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

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

掩 (cover) and 埋 (bury) are parallel actions that together mean placing something under the ground.

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.

扌奄掩

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

奄

奄yǎn掩yǎn

Same sound today

The left part 扌 is a hand; the right part 奄 gives the character its sound.

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

艹Written in full as艸cǎoplant

Sound part声符shēngfú

貍

貍lí埋mái

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

An earlier form paired 艹 (plant) with 貍 (lí) for sound. The form 埋 later shows earth with a sound part.

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