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拆穿 (chāi chuān) — to expose, to unmask

Definition

Means to expose or unmask something deceptive (a lie, scam, or disguise), often decisively. Note the pronunciation: 拆 chāi + 穿 chuān, not chā.

verb
to exposeto unmask

Examples

  • 拆穿。
    Tā de huǎng yán hěn kuài jiù bèi chāi chuān le.
    His lie was soon exposed.
  • 拆穿。
    Jì zhě chāi chuān le zhè qǐ chǒu wén de nèi mù.
    The journalist exposed the inside story of this scandal.
  • 拆穿。
    Tā men yòng le hěn duō zhèng jù lái chāi chuān zhè ge piàn jú.
    They used a lot of evidence to expose this fraud.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

拆chāitear
穿chuānthrough

拆穿 tears 拆 open until 穿 through, exposing what was hidden.

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
斥
斥chì拆chāi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拆 uses 手 to show an action done by hand, with 斥 giving the sound. In an earlier related form, the hand part replaced an earth part to stress the action by hand.

Open 拆 →

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

穿 puts 穴 (cave) and 牙 (tooth) together to show passing through or penetrating.

Open 穿 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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