kǎi
noun #4,510

Meanings

  1. 1 triumphal music
  2. 2 triumphant
  3. 3 (surname) Kai

Examples

HSK 6
Tāmen zòu qǐ le kǎigē.
They struck up a triumphal song.
HSK 7-9
Kǎixuán de shìbīng huídào le jiāxiāng.
The triumphant soldiers returned to their hometown.

Tips

usage
is most commonly seen in compounds: 凯旋 (triumphal return), 凯歌 (song of triumph). As a standalone it rarely appears outside names.

Components

radical
small table
Right radical - the indexing component. Pictures a low stool or table used as a graphic anchor. In modern usage carries the triumphal-music sense (凯旋, 凯歌) and serves as a popular character in transliterated names: 凯文 Kevin, 凯特 Kate, 凯瑟琳 Catherine.
phonetic
how can it be (phonetic)
Left supplies the sound - qǐ drifted to kǎi via initial fronting. Traditional used the fuller , originally a pictograph of a war drum mounted on a stand and struck during triumphal processions. Same phonetic in (model script) and (wipe).

Stroke Order

kǎi