埋藏
mái cáng · HSK 7
to bury
⛏️ 埋 = bury (note the 土 earth radical) + 藏 = hide/store; together: hide by burying
Both characters push the same idea: 埋 carries the 土 earth radical for putting something under ground, and 藏 means to store away or conceal. Stacked, they mean to bury so as to hide. Sound hook: mái cáng echoes the English my-song of a buried hidden track.
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.
藏 — grass radical 艹 + 臧 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The grass radical 艹 on top suggests plants or vegetation used for concealment, while 臧 below provides the sound. Originally meant to hide or conceal something in the grass, later extended to mean 'store' or 'collect,' and when read 'zàng' it means a treasury or storehouse.