盗墓 (dào mù) — to rob a tomb / grave; tomb raiding

Definition

A verb (separable: 盗…墓) meaning to rob a tomb or grave. Refers to illegally entering and stealing from ancient burials — a culturally loaded term tied to grave-robbing and tomb-raiding lore.

verb

to rob a tomb / gravetomb raiding

Examples

盗墓。
Tā yīn wèi dào mù bèi pàn le shí nián.
He was sentenced to ten years for tomb raiding.
。
Zhè xiē rén dào le sān gè gǔ mù.
These people robbed three ancient tombs.
，。
Tā yǐ qián dào guò yí cì mù, bèi zhuā hòu jiù bù gǎn le.
He had robbed a tomb once before, but after getting caught he never dared again.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

盗dàorob

墓mùtomb

盗 robbing and 墓 a tomb combine to mean robbing graves.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 盜; 盗 is its simplified writing.

㳄㳄㳄
舟舟zhōuboat

The traditional form 盜 combines 㳄 (drooling/craving) with a vessel shape, meaning to covet someone else's possessions and steal; 盗 is the simplified writing of 盜.

Open 盗 →

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

莫土墓

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔ

Sound part声符shēngfú

莫

莫mò墓mù

Same sound today

墓 combines 土 (earth) and 莫 (sound).

Open 墓 →

Appears in