Definitions

jué (verb) to dig; to excavate

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character "掘" is composed of the hand radical (扌) on the left, indicating an action performed with the hand, combined with the phonetic and semantic component "屈" on the right, which carries connotations of bending or submitting. This structure logically points to the primary meaning of digging or excavating, as it describes the physical action of using the hand and a tool to bend into and displace earth. Over time, while retaining this core literal sense, its application broadened to encompass more abstract forms of unearthing or uncovering, such as delving into facts or revealing hidden truths, thus extending its use from a purely physical act to one of investigation or discovery.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

工人们正在挖土壤。

Gōngrénmen zhèngzài wājué tǔrǎng.

The workers are digging the soil.

他用铲子了一个坑。

Tā yòng chǎnzi juéle yīgè kēng.

He dug a hole with a shovel.

这条沟是昨天的。

Zhè tiáo gōu shì zuótiān jué de.

This ditch was dug yesterday.

他们打算在这里一口井。

Tāmen dǎsuàn zài zhèlǐ jué yī kǒu jǐng.

They plan to dig a well here.

农民们在田里土豆。

Nóngmínmen zài tián lǐ jué tǔdòu.

The farmers are digging up potatoes in the field.

考古学家仔细地发古代遗址。

Kǎogǔ xuéjiā zǐxì de fājué gǔdài yízhǐ.

The archaeologists carefully excavated the ancient site.

公司投入巨资以挖新的市场。

Gōngsī tóurù jùzī yǐ wājué xīn de shìchǎng.

The company invested huge funds to explore new markets.

深入挖数据背后的真相非常重要。

Shēnrù wājué shùjù bèihòu de zhēnxiàng fēicháng zhòngyào.

It is very important to dig deep into the truth behind the data.