开幕式 (kāi mù shì) — opening ceremony

Definition

Formal noun for an 'opening ceremony' (of a conference, exhibition, sports event). Pair it with 闭幕式 — 开幕 for the start, 闭幕 for the close.

noun

opening ceremony

Measure word · 个

Examples

开幕式。
Ào yùn huì de kāi mù shì fēi cháng zhuàng guān.
The opening ceremony of the Olympics was very spectacular.
开幕式。
Míng tiān xià wǔ liǎng diǎn jǔ xíng kāi mù shì.
The opening ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. tomorrow.
开幕式？
Nǐ kàn le zhǎn lǎn de kāi mù shì ma?
Did you watch the opening ceremony of the exhibition?

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

开幕open a curtain

开kāiopen幕mùcurtain

动宾Verb + object

式shìceremony

开幕 means opening a curtain and 式 means ceremony or form; together they name the formal opening of an event.

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.

門一廾開

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.

莫巾幕

Meaning part形符xíngfú

巾巾jīncloth

Sound part声符shēngfú

莫

莫mò幕mù

Same sound today

幕 combines 莫 above 巾 (cloth); 莫 gives the sound.

Open 幕 →

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