显出
xiǎn chū · HSK 6
to exhibit
🎭 显 show + 出 out = show it out, exhibit it
显 means apparent or visible, 出 means out or emerge. Together they literally mean to make visible outward — to express or exhibit something for others to perceive.
显 — sun 日 + head/page 頁 (simplified from 顯)
Originally 顯, showing a head 頁 looking at silk threads under the sun 日, suggesting things made visible or apparent. The meaning extended from 'clearly seen' to 'manifest, evident, prominent.' Simplified to 显 by reducing the silk-and-head element to a small mark beneath 日.
出 — foot 止 emerging from enclosure 凵
出 is a pictograph showing a foot or plant stepping out of a hollow or enclosure, depicting the act of going forth. The original sense of 'coming out' or 'emerging' has remained stable since oracle bone script. It now broadly means 'to exit, go out, or produce.'