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掩盖 (yǎn gài) — to cover, to blanket (physically); to conceal, to cover up (abstract, e.g. truth, mistakes)

Definition

掩盖 means 'to cover up' (a truth, mistake, or feeling), more deliberate than 隐瞒 (which is simply hiding information). 对比 遮, which can be physical or abstract, 掩盖 is mostly abstract.

verb
to coverto blanket (physically)to concealto cover up (abstract, e.g. truth, mistakes)

Examples

  • 掩盖。
    Dà xuě yǎn gài le dào lù.
    The heavy snow covered the road.
  • 掩盖。
    Tā shì tú yǎn gài shì shí.
    He tried to cover up the facts.
  • 掩盖。
    Tā bù néng yǎn gài zì jǐ de jǐn zhāng.
    She cannot conceal her nervousness.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

掩yǎncover
盖gàicover

掩 and 盖 both mean to cover, so 掩盖 stresses covering something up.

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
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.

Open 掩 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蓋; 盖 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
盍
盍hé蓋gài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 蓋 pairs 艸, grass, with 盍 for sound. It was a thatch, and it took on cover meanings after 盍 was borrowed for “why not”.

Open 盖 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Abstract Concepts5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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