开机 (kāi jī) — to start (an engine, a machine); to boot up (a…

Definition

开机 covers starting a device: turn on a machine, boot a computer, or begin filming. 启动 is more formal/technical and pairs with broader systems and operations, not cameras.

verb

to start (an engine, a machine)to boot up (a computer)to begin shooting (a film or TV show)

Examples

开机。
Wǒ měi tiān shàng bān dì yī jiàn shì jiù shì kāi jī diàn nǎo.
The first thing I do every day when I go to work is boot up the computer.
开机。
Tā kāi jī hòu chē jiù néng kāi le.
After he started the engine, the car could be driven.
。
Dǎo yǎn shuō jīn tiān xià wǔ kāi yí cì jī.
The director said we'll start shooting once this afternoon.

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

机jīmachine

开 means to start and 机 means machine or engine; together they describe starting a machine or booting a device.

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.

木几机

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree; wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

几

几jǐ机jī

Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.

Open 机 →

Appears in