揭 (jiē): to expose; to reveal; to unmask

Meanings

1 to expose; to reveal; to unmask
2 to tear off; to uncover; to lift (a lid)

Characters

揭

jiē

to uncover; to expose; to tear off

Examples

记者揭露了腐败行为。

Jìzhě jiēlù le fǔbài xíngwéi.

The journalist exposed corrupt behavior.

他揭开了锅盖。

Tā jiēkāi le guōgài.

He lifted the pot lid.

真相终于被揭开了。

Zhēnxiàng zhōngyú bèi jiēkāi le.

The truth was finally revealed.

不要揭人短处。

Bùyào jiē rén duǎnchù.

Don't expose other people's shortcomings.

Tips

usage

Common compounds: 揭开 (uncover/reveal), 揭露 (expose), 揭发 (report/expose wrongdoing), 揭示 (reveal/indicate). 揭开 is physical (lift a cover) or metaphorical (reveal truth). 揭露 is specifically about exposing bad things.

culture

揭竿而起 (jiē gān ér qǐ) — to raise a pole and revolt — refers to the first peasant uprising in Chinese history (Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, 209 BC), using bamboo poles as makeshift weapons.

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand (radical form of 手)

Left-side hand radical, three-stroke contracted form of 手. The indexing radical, marking 揭 as a hand-action verb: to lift up, peel back, uncover, expose. The hand here is doing the revealing — peeling a label, raising a lid, lifting a veil. Same family of lift/expose verbs: 提 to raise, 拉 to pull, 抬 to lift.

phonetic

曷 hé

what; why (archaic phonetic)

Right side 曷 — an archaic interrogative meaning 'what, when, how,' barely used standalone today but a very productive phonetic. Supplies the sound for 揭 (hé → jiē, palatalisation of h). Same phonetic family: 喝 to drink, 渴 thirsty, 歇 to rest, 谒 to call on, 葛 kudzu. Recognising 曷 unlocks all of them.