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

HSK 5

他揭开了锅盖。

Tā jiēkāi le guōgài.

He lifted the pot lid.

HSK 6

真相终于被揭开了。

Zhēnxiàng zhōngyú bèi jiēkāi le.

The truth was finally revealed.

HSK 7-9

记者揭露了腐败行为。

Jìzhě jiēlù le fǔbài xíngwéi.

The journalist exposed corrupt behavior.

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.