开门红 (kāi mén gōng) — to get off to a good start; a successful beginning

Definition

A chengyu meaning a strong, auspicious start to a new venture, project, or period (often a new year). Used as a predicate or goal — '希望今年来个开门红' — never describes a person.

idiom
to get off to a good starta successful beginning

Examples

  • 开门红，。
    Gōng sī jīn nián kāi mén gōng, dì yī jì dù shōu rù fān le yì fān.
    The company got off to a good start this year, with first-quarter revenue doubling.
  • 开门红，。
    Zhù nǐ zài xīn de yì nián lǐ kāi mén gōng, wàn shì rú yì.
    I wish you a good start in the new year and may everything go well.
  • 开门红，。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù kāi mén gōng, kè hù fēi cháng mǎn yì.
    This project got off to a good start; the client is very satisfied.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

开门open the door
开kāiopen门méndoor
动宾Verb + object
红hóngred

“开门” means open the door and “红” means red or prosperous, giving an auspicious beginning.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

Open 门 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 紅; 红 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng紅hóng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 紅 puts 糸 (silk) next to 工, which gives the sound; the simplified 红 is a later shorthand.

Open 红 →

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