开

開
kāi
verb HSK 1 #155

Meanings

  1. 1 to open
  2. 2 to turn on
  3. 3 to start
  4. 4 to drive

Examples

HSK 1
Nǐ huì kāichē ma?
Can you drive?
HSK 2
Qǐng kāimén.
Please open the door.
HSK 3
Qǐng kāidēng.
Please turn on the light.

Tips

usage
开 is incredibly versatile: 开门 (open a door), 开车 (drive), 开灯 (turn on a light), 开会 (hold a meeting), 开心 (happy), 开始 (start).
grammar
The opposite of 开 is 关: 开门/关门 (open/close door), 开灯/关灯 (turn on/off light).

Components

radical
廾 gǒng
two hands cupped; clasping hands
Bottom 廾 depicts two hands held up together - the indexing radical. In full 開 these hands lift the bar away from the gate. Stripped of the gate by the 1956 reform, 开 now shows just hands lifting a bar. Same component in 弄, 弊, 异.
ideograph
一 yī
one; horizontal stroke
Top horizontal stands for the door-bolt being lifted off - in the traditional 開, the inside was 門 (gate) plus 幵 (parallel hands removing the bar). Simplified 开 kept just the bolt-bar plus the two hands beneath, so this stroke is the lid coming off.

Stroke Order

开 kāi