开 (kāi): to open (transitive or intransitive), (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start, to turn on, to put in operation, to operate, to run
开 (kāi) is a Chinese character meaning “to open (transitive or intransitive).” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 一 (structural) and 廾 (structural). It ranks #94 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 开 simplified form of 開; hands 廾 lifting the latch 一 of a door. Its radical form 廾 (hands joined) appears in many related characters such as 弄 (nòng, to do), 弃 (qì, to abandon), 异 (yì, different).
Definitions
- to open (transitive or intransitive)
- (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start
- to turn on
- to put in operation
- to operate
- to run
Etymology & Origin
ideographicSimplified form of 開; hands 廾 lifting the latch 一 of a door
Decomposition: ⿱一廾 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 开
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 开始verb/noun | kāi shǐ | to begin | 2 |
| 离开verb | lí kāi | to depart | 3 |
| 开心adjective | kāi xīn | to feel happy | 3 |
| 打开verb | dǎ kāi | to open | 2 |
| 开玩笑verb | kāi wán xiào | to play a joke | 4 |
| 开车verb | kāi chē | to drive a car (or train etc) | 1 |
| 分开verb | fēn kāi | to separate | 3 |
| 公开adjective/verb | gōng kāi | open | 6 |
| 开会verb | kāi huì | to hold a meeting | 3 |
| 开头verb/noun | kāi tóu | beginning | 6 |
| 展开verb | zhǎn kāi | to unfold | 5 |
| 开放verb/adjective | kāi fàng | to bloom | 5 |
| 开通verb | kāi tōng | to open (a new road or railway line) | 5 |
| 开发verb | kāi fā | to exploit (a resource) | 5 |
| 开启verb | kāi qǐ | to start | 6 |
| 召开verb | zhào kāi | to convene (a conference or meeting) | 5 |
| 开关noun | kāi guān | power switch | 6 |
| 开业verb | kāi yè | to open a business | 5 |
| 开展verb | kāi zhǎn | to launch | 5 |
| 开学verb | kāi xué | (of a student) to start school | 2 |
| 开创verb | kāi chuàng | to initiate | 6 |
| 开幕式noun | kāi mù shì | opening ceremony | 5 |
| 开机verb | kāi jī | to start an engine | 3 |
| 开花verb | kāi huā | to bloom | 3 |
| 开幕verb | kāi mù | to open (a conference) | 5 |
| 开设verb | kāi shè | to offer (goods or services) | 6 |
| 开水noun | kāi shuǐ | boiled water | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 开枪verb | kāi qiāng | to open fire |
| 放开verb | fàng kāi | to let go |
| 走开verb | zǒu kāi | to leave |
| 开门verb | kāi mén | (lit. and fig.) to open a door |
| 开除verb | kāi chú | to expel (a member of an organization) |
| 开口verb | kāi kǒu | to open one's mouth |
| 滚开verb | gǔn kāi | (of a liquid) to boil |
| 开火 | kāi huǒ | to open fire |
| 解开verb | jiě kāi | to untie |
| 敞开verb | chǎng kāi | to open wide |
| 避开verb | bì kāi | to avoid |
| 开场verb | kāi chǎng | to begin |
| 开拍verb | kāi pāi | to begin shooting (a movie, a scene of a movie etc) |
| 张开verb | zhāng kāi | to open up |
| 开工 | kāi gōng | to begin work (of a factory or engineering operation) |
开 appears in 114 compound words: 62 as the first character, 32 as the last, and 5 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 开 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (36)
lit. to pull apart and knead to a pulp; fig. to analyze minutely from every angle; to chew sth over
(lit.) springtime when the weather is warm and flowers are in bloom (idiom); (fig.) a time of renewal and flourishing
dog hole wide open (idiom); fig. gap caused by missing teeth (used mockingly)
to suddenly see the light; to be suddenly enlightened; the view instantly clears up; open and clear
lit. to pull apart and knead to a pulp; fig. to analyze minutely from every angle; to chew sth over
to suddenly see the light; to be suddenly enlightened; the view instantly clears up; open and clear
Showing 12 of 36 idioms containing 开.
Example Sentences
这个开字在古汉语中有不同的含义。
zhè gě kāi zì zài gǔ hàn yǔ zhōng yǒu bù tóng de hán yì .
The character "开" carries different meanings in classical Chinese.
上海乐高乐园迎开园后首个春节假期,正月初三刷新单日..
shàng hǎi lè gāo lè yuán yíng kāi yuán hòu shǒu gè chūn jié jiǎ qī , zhèng yuè chū sān shuā xīn dān rì . .
Shanghai Legoland welcomed the first Spring Festival holiday after the opening of the park, and the third day of the first lunar month refreshed a single day:
...贵州烟火气·黔味中国年”天眼纪录·回家|开往春天..
. . . guì zhōu yān huǒ qì 黔 wèi zhōng guó nián tiān yǎn jì lù huí jiā kāi wǎng chūn tiān . .
... Guizhou Fireworks Qianwei Chinese New Year "Tianyan Record, Home|Drive to Spring:
南通通州:新年“开机”赶订单 新产能冲刺新目标
nán tōng tōng zhōu : xīn nián kāi jī gǎn dìng dān xīn chǎn néng chōng cì xīn mù biāo
Nantong Tongzhou: New Year's "start-up" to catch up with orders New production capacity sprint to new goals
大理消防开展防火专项行动:踏查重点林区,对高火险区...
dà lǐ xiāo fáng kāi zhǎn fáng huǒ zhuān xiàng háng dòng : tà chá chóng diǎn lín qū , duì gāo huǒ xiǎn qū . . .
Dali Fire Protection carried out special fire prevention actions: inspecting key forest areas and high-fire risk areas...
【城事】外滩开关式人墙再次启用,分流客流确保平台上..
chéng shì wài tān kāi guān shì rén qiáng zài cì qǐ yòng , fēn liú kè liú què bǎo píng tái shàng . .
【City Affairs】The Bund switch-type human wall is used again to divert passenger flow to ensure that the platform is ensured:
你是在跟我开玩笑吧？！
Nǐ shì zài gēn wǒ kāiwánxiào ba?!
Are you freaking kidding me?!
你开始学习英语了吗？
Nǐ kāishǐ xuéxí Yīngyǔ le ma?
Have you begun studying English?
你的妈妈会开车吗？
Nǐ de māma huì kāichē ma?
Can your mother drive a car?
演出什么时候开始？
Yǎnchū shénme shíhou kāishǐ?
What time does the play begin?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 开 (kāi) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 开 and 闭?
How many strokes does 开 have?
What is the radical of 开?
What are the components of 开?
What are common words containing 开?
What characters sound the same as 开 (kāi)?
Is 开 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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