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开恩 (kāi ēn) — to show mercy, to grant a favor (often from a superior)

Definition

A formal verb meaning to 'show mercy' or 'grant a favor,' typically from a superior to an inferior. Almost always used in requests, like 求您开恩.

verb
to show mercyto grant a favor (often from a superior)

Examples

  • 开恩，。
    Qiú nín kāi ēn, ráo le wǒ zhè yí cì ba.
    Please show mercy and forgive me this once.
  • ，。
    Lǎo bǎn kāi le yí cì ēn, gěi wǒ men fàng le sān tiān jiǎ.
    The boss showed mercy once and gave us three days off.
  • 。
    Tā cóng lái méi duì shuí kāi guò ēn.
    He has never shown mercy to anyone.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

开kāishow
恩ēnmercy

开 suggests opening or extending, and 恩 is favor or mercy; together it means to show mercy.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
因
因yīn恩ēn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

恩 puts 因, which gives the sound, beside 心, a heart.

Open 恩 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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