开 (kāi) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

开

kāi[kai1]Tone 1

to open

HSK 1

View Traditional FormSwitch to Traditional

開

Guru Deep Dive

English · to open

Cached lesson

1 / 1

Topology:Full enclosure

Strokes:4

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the outer gate frames well-balanced and upright, leaving enough interior space for the horizontal and vertical strokes inside.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 開 uses門 (gate) as an enclosure with 丗 inside; the simplified form 开 retains the structural silhouette with simplified inner elements.

1. Meaning

to open (transitive or intransitive); to start or turn on

to boilto write out a prescription, check, or invoicedirectional complement meaning away or offcarat for gold purity

VerbNeutral#action#operation#state change

Sample Usage

请把门开开。
qǐng bǎ mén kāi kāi.
Please open the door.
水开了。
shuǐ kāi le.
The water is boiling.

2. Sound

/[kʰaɪ̯⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

开

kāikai1

¯(55)

=kāi

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Velar

Sounds like: k sound as in 'kite'

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Strong gust of air from throat! Tissue held in front MUST fly forward.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue touches the soft palate, releasing a strong puff of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: ai diphthong as in 'high'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'eye'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, level pitch, similar to the flat, sustained tone of a voice calling out a steady note.

👂

Listening trap: Mistaking Tone 1 for Tone 4 because native speakers may clip it in fast casual speech.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A high, flat pitch held steady like a high musical note sung at the top of your vocal range.

3. Writing

Topology: Full enclosure · Strokes: 4 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the outer gate frames well-balanced and upright, leaving enough interior space for the horizontal and vertical strokes inside.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 開 uses門 (gate) as an enclosure with 丗 inside; the simplified form 开 retains the structural silhouette with simplified inner elements.

4. Components

Radical 开 · Opening Radical / Two-Handed Push (opening or unlocking)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 门 (denotes a doorway or gateway being parted)

A pair of hands lifting the latch or pushing open the double doors of a gate.

干 provides the phonetic and structural core inside the gate

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

9· Phonetic Root: 开 (kāi)

5. History

Liushu category: Compound ideogram (会意)

Origin: In Oracle Bone scripts, the character depicted two hands sliding or lifting the crossbar off a pair of gates to open them.

Semantic Evolution: From the physical act of unbarring doors and gates, it expanded to mean starting vehicles, turning on electrical appliances, boiling water, and issuing documents.

Ancient gates required a wooden crossbar (tián) to lock; removing this bar was the literal act of 'opening'.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

khai

Both share an open initial sound and high level or flat intonation concept.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: カイ / Kun: ひら.く, あ.く

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

개

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You walk up to a grand double gate with a giant letter K carved into it. You firmly push it open (kāi) to let the fresh breeze in.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

形

xíngshapeUses san-piē on the right side for decoration.

研

yánto grind / researchAdds the stone radical on the left.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

关(guān)

关 means to close or shut, whereas 开 means to open. Notice how the bottom legs close inward in 关.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

请把窗户[___]。

Clue: kāi

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 开 (to open) with 关 (to close) due to their visual similarity and opposite meanings.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 开, what action does it describe?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to turn on / to open' with 4 strokes?

开kāito open

Speed:

Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...

0 / 0