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开口 (kāi kǒu) — to open one's mouth; to speak up; to start talking

Definition

开口 means to open one's mouth to speak — often used in the negative 不好意思开口 ('don't like to bring it up') to mean asking a favor or mentioning something awkward. It's separable: 开了口 / 开不了口.

verb
to open one's mouthto speak upto start talking

Examples

  • ，开口。
    Tā yóu yù le hěn jiǔ, zhōng yú kāi kǒu le.
    He hesitated for a long time and finally spoke up.
  • ，。
    Zhè jiàn shì tài nán le, wǒ shí zài kāi bù liǎo kǒu.
    This matter is too difficult — I really can't bring myself to say it.
  • ，。
    Tā zhī kāi guò yí cì kǒu, zhī hòu jiù yì zhí chén mò.
    She only spoke once, and then remained silent the whole time.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

开kāiopen
口kǒumouth

开 means open and 口 means mouth, so the action is to open the mouth and start speaking.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

Open 口 →
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