読み上げる
よみあげる · yomiageru · JLPT N1 · verb-ichidan
to read out loud
📢 読 (read) + 上げる (raise/lift up): lift the words up and out so everyone hears them.
上げる means raise or lift up, and 読み上げる is reading aloud, as in lifting text up from the page into the air. Same verb turns up in 名前を呼び上げる, calling names out for a roll call.
上 — horizontal line above a baseline
上 is an indicative character (指事): a short stroke placed above a longer reference line shows the concept of 'above' or 'up'. The earliest oracle-bone forms used two horizontal lines for this; the modern shape added a vertical stroke for clarity. The core meaning of 'upper, above, to ascend' has stayed stable for millennia.