露

lù, lòu

路 + 雨

HSK 2.0Level 5

HSK 3.0Level 6

Frequency#841

Definitions

lù (noun) dew; nectar

lòu (verb) to reveal; to expose

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 雨 represents the meaning and 路 represents the sound.

Semantic: 雨 Phonetic: 路

About

The character "露" is structured as a pictophonetic compound with the semantic component "雨" representing rain or atmospheric moisture and the phonetic component "路" indicating its pronunciation, originally denoting dew as condensed moisture appearing overnight. Its meaning expanded from this concrete natural phenomenon to include abstract senses of exposure or revelation, such as in the term "暴露" meaning to expose, and it also acquired applications for certain viscous liquids like syrups, as in "果露" for fruit syrup, reflecting a semantic shift from physical substance to associated actions and similar substances over time.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

草地上有露水。

Cǎo dì shàng yǒu lù shuǐ.

There is dew on the grass.

她露出了开心的笑容。

Tā lù chū le kāi xīn de xiào róng.

She showed a happy smile.

他暴露了自己的秘密。

Tā bào lù le zì jǐ de mì mì.

He exposed his secret.

叶子上有晶莹的露珠。

Yè zi shàng yǒu jīng yíng de lù zhū.

There are crystal dew drops on the leaves.

他的才华逐渐显露出来。

Tā de cái huá zhú jiàn xiǎn lù chū lái.

His talent gradually revealed itself.

他的话太露骨了。

Tā de huà tài lù gǔ le.

His words are too explicit.

在阳光下，露水很快就蒸发了。

Zài yáng guāng xià, lù shuǐ hěn kuài jiù zhēng fā le.

Under the sunlight, the dew quickly evaporated.

尽管他试图掩饰，但眼神中还是露出了一丝不安。

Jǐn guǎn tā shì tú yǎn shì, dàn yǎn shén zhōng hái shì lù chū le yī sī bù ān.

Although he tried to hide it, a trace of unease was revealed in his eyes.

Related Characters

Component: 路

Component: 雨

露