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开局 (kāi jú) — opening phase of a game or match; start (especially in chess, Go, ball games)

Definition

开局 (kāi jú) refers to the opening stage of a contest — chess, Go, ball games, or even a negotiation — where initial moves set the tone for what follows. It emphasizes the *phase*, not the act of starting (which is 开始).

noun
opening phase of a game or matchstart (especially in chess, Go, ball games)

Examples

  • 开局。
    Zhè pán qí de kāi jú fēi cháng guān jiàn.
    The opening of this chess game is very critical.
  • 开局，。
    Qiú duì de kāi jú dǎ dé bú cuò, dàn hòu miàn shī wù le.
    The team's start in the match was good, but they made mistakes later.
  • 开局。
    Zhè cì tán pàn de kāi jú gěi le wǒ men hěn dà xìn xīn.
    The start of this negotiation gave us great confidence.

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
局júgame

'开' means start and '局' means game, so it denotes starting a game or the opening.

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
尸尸shī
Sound part声符shēngfú
句
句jù局jú
Same sound today

The shape of 局 pairs 尸, a meaning part, with 句, a sound part.

Open 局 →
Appears in
Games & Puzzles

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