启示
qǐshì · HSK 7
revelation
💡 启 (open up) + 示 (show) = something opened up and shown to you = a revelation
启 carries the sense of opening or enlightening (as in 启发, to inspire); 示 means to show or indicate (as in 表示, to express). Together: what gets opened and shown = a revelation or apocalypse. Sounds like chee-shr.
示 — altar 示 (二 + 小); originally 丅 with three strokes
示 is a pictograph of an ancient altar or sacrificial stand, with the top line representing heaven and the strokes below depicting offerings or hanging banners. It originally meant 'to show' something to the spirits, and by extension came to mean 'to show, display, or indicate' in general. As a radical, it appears in many characters related to ritual, worship, and divine matters.