开凿 (kāi záo) — to dig, to cut (a canal, tunnel, etc.)

Definition

A formal verb for cutting or boring through rock/earth to create a passage — canals, tunnels, wells. More deliberate and large-scale than 挖.

verb
to digto cut (a canal, tunnel, etc.)

Examples

  • 开凿。
    Tā men kāi záo le yì tiáo suì dào chuān guò dà shān.
    They dug a tunnel through the mountain.
  • 开凿。
    Gǔ dài rén kāi záo le zhè tiáo yùn hé.
    Ancient people dug this canal.
  • 开凿。
    Gōng rén men zhèng zài kāi záo shuǐ qú.
    The workers are digging an irrigation ditch.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

开kāiopen
凿záochisel

开 is opening and 凿 is chiselling, together giving the idea of cutting through.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 開; 开 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 一一yīlatch and/or wooden pole that shuts a door
  • 廾廾gǒnga pair of hands

The traditional form 開 shows 廾, a pair of hands, and 一, a latch or pole, inside 門, a door: hands opening a latched door. The simplified 开 is a shorthand form, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 开 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鑿; 凿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
𥽿
𥽿𥽿鑿záo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鑿 combines 金, metal, with 𥽿, which gives the sound; the simplified 凿 is a different form.

Open 凿 →

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