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开拍 (kāi pāi) — to start shooting (a film or TV show)

Definition

Industry term meaning 'to start shooting / begin principal photography' on a film or TV show. Used for the moment cameras roll on a production, not for general filming or for movies outside a production context.

verb
to start shooting (a film or TV show)

Examples

  • 开拍。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng xià ge yuè kāi pāi.
    This movie starts shooting next month.
  • 开拍。
    Dǎo yǎn xuān bù míng tiān zhèng shì kāi pāi.
    The director announced that shooting will officially start tomorrow.
  • ，开拍。
    Yīn wèi tiān qì bù hǎo, kāi pāi shí jiān tuī chí le.
    Because of bad weather, the start of shooting has been delayed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

开kāistart
拍pāishoot

开 means to start, and 拍 refers to filming, so 开拍 means to start filming.

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái拍pāi
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拍 puts 手 (hand) beside 白, which gives the pronunciation.

Open 拍 →
Appears in
Film & Theater

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