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发掘 (fā jué) — (literal) to excavate, to dig up (archaeological sites, relics); (figurative) to unearth, to tap into (potential, talents, markets)

Definition

发掘 covers both literal archaeological digging and figurative 'unearthing' of potential or opportunities. Sharper and more focused than the broad 探索, and pairs with 出 (发掘出) for what is brought to light.

verb
(literal) to excavateto dig up (archaeological sites, relics)(figurative) to unearthto tap into (potential, talents, markets)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 发掘。
    Kǎo gǔ xué jiā zài zhè piàn yí zhǐ zhōng fā jué chū le dà liàng de qīng tóng qì.
    Archaeologists excavated a large number of bronze artifacts from this site.
  • 发掘。
    Gōng sī tōng guò péi xùn lái fā jué měi wèi yuán gōng de qián lì.
    The company taps into each employee's potential through training.
  • 发掘。
    Zhè ge tuán duì nǔ lì fā jué xīn de shì chǎng jī yù.
    This team works hard to unearth new market opportunities.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

发fādig out
掘juédig

"发" contributes "dig out" and "掘" contributes "dig", so 发掘 means to dig out buried things.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →

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 7-9Science (General)

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