埋
mái · HSK 6
bury
⚰️ 土 earth + 里 inside = put something inside the earth
Sounds like my — my secret is buried inside the earth. The components spell out the meaning directly: earth + inside = bury.
埋 — earth 土 + village 里 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 土 (earth) gives the meaning of burying in soil, while 里 supplies the sound. The original sense was to cover or hide something underground, later extended to figurative meanings like 'bury oneself in work' or to conceal.