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开学 (kāi xué) — to start school, to begin a new term

Definition

开学 means 'a school term begins' — it happens every term, not just the first time. 入学 is the one-time event of entering school for the first time.

verb
to start schoolto begin a new term
Easily confused

Examples

  • 开学。
    Wǒ men jiǔ yuè yī hào kāi xué.
    We start school on September 1st.
  • 开学？
    Nǐ men shén me shí hou kāi xué?
    When does your school start?
  • 开学，。
    kāi xué De dì yī tiān, wǒ hěn gāo xìng.
    On the first day of school, I was very happy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

开kāiopen
学xuéschool

“开” means to open and “学” means school or study, giving the sense of starting a school term.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.

Open 学 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 2School & Education

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