Learn a Chinese Character - 开

1. Character Basics

Radical: 一 (horizontal stroke)

Stroke Count: 4

Stroke Order:

2. Pronunciation

Pinyin: kāi

3. Meaning

English meaning: open, start, turn on

4. Common Words

• 开门 (kāi mén) - open the door
• 开始 (kāi shǐ) - start, begin
• 开车 (kāi chē) - drive a car
• 开心 (kāi xīn) - happy, joyful
• 开会 (kāi huì) - have a meeting

5. Grammar & Usage

Usage notes:

• Most commonly used as a verb meaning "to open" or "to start".
• Can be combined with many other characters to form compound words.
• In some expressions, it can mean "to operate" or "to manage"

6. Cultural Background

The character "开" is one of the most basic and commonly used characters in Chinese. Its original meaning was "to split" or "to separate", but it has evolved to have a wide range of meanings related to starting or opening.

7. Example Sentence

8. Memory Tips

Mnemonic: The character "开" looks like two hands (the horizontal strokes) opening a door or window (the vertical stroke in the middle).