开枪

開槍

kāiqiāng

verb HSK 7-9 #728

Meanings

1 to fire a gun; to shoot

Characters

to open; to operate

gun; rifle; spear

Literally 'operate a gun.' Chinese uses 开 for activating devices — 开灯 (turn on light), 开车 (drive a car), 开枪 (fire a gun).

Examples

警察向空中开枪示警。

Jǐngchá xiàng kōngzhōng kāiqiāng shì jǐng.

The police fired a warning shot into the air.

不许开枪！

Bùxǔ kāiqiāng!

Don't shoot!

Tips

grammar

开 is incredibly versatile as a verb meaning 'to operate/activate.' 开车 (drive), 开灯 (turn on light), 开门 (open door), 开会 (hold a meeting), 开刀 (perform surgery), 开枪 (fire a gun) — all use the same 开.

Stroke Order

开 kāi

枪 qiāng