Chinese word

挖

Pronunciation

Pinyinwā

Meaning

  • verbdig

Example

孩子们在沙滩上挖沙子。hái zi men zài shā tān shàng wā shā zi

The children are digging in the sand on the beach.

Illustration for 挖 (dig)

More examples

考古学家在古墓里小心地挖掘文物。káo gǔ xué jiā zài gǔ mù lǐ xiǎo xīn dì wā jué wén wù

The archaeologist carefully unearthed cultural relics in the ancient tomb.

Core concept

Uses a hand or tool to scoop material away and create an opening in the ground.

Common phrases

  • 挖掘文物wā jué wén wù

    unearth cultural relics

  • 挖出线索wā chū xiàn suǒ

    uncover clues

Similar words

挖掘wā jué: Digging deeply into the ground to extract resources or something buried inside it.
发掘fā jué: Digging up buried objects, especially historical remains or artifacts, to find and recover them.

Definition in Chinese

用手或工具把土、沙等从下面挖出，形成洞或移走地面上的物质。yòng shǒu huò gōng jù bǎ tǔ shā děng cóng xià miàn wā chū xíng chéng dòng huò yí zǒu dì miàn shàng de wù zhì

Word origin

Its hand radical points to an action done with the hand, while the other component mainly supplies the pronunciation wā.

Usage tips

  • English speakers may know dig as slang for liking something, but this Chinese verb has its basic physical meaning in ordinary conversation.

Other meanings

  • pick atverb
  • dig upverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word