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开拓 (kāi tuò) — (verb) to open up, to reclaim (land, territory, frontiers); (verb figurative) to pioneer, to break new ground, to expand (markets, horizons, fields)

Definition

开拓 (kāituò) means to open up and develop new territory or territory — land, markets, or fields. Pairs with 开辟 (open up a path/era) when creating something new, and with 开发 (develop resources/products) when working existing ground.

verb
to open upto reclaim (land, territory, frontiers)(verb figurative) to pioneerto break new groundto expand (markets, horizons, fields)

Examples

  • 开拓。
    Gōng sī zhèng zài nǔ lì kāi tuò hǎi wài shì chǎng.
    The company is working hard to expand into overseas markets.
  • 开拓。
    Zhè wèi kē xué jiā kāi tuò le yí gè quán xīn de yán jiū lǐng yù.
    This scientist pioneered a completely new field of research.
  • ，开拓，。
    Jǐ bǎi nián qián, rén men lái dào zhè lǐ kāi tuò huāng dì, jiàn lì le cūn zhuāng.
    Hundreds of years ago, people came here to reclaim wasteland and built villages.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

开kāiopen
拓tuòexpand

开 means to open, and 拓 means to expand; together they describe opening up new land or fields.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
石
石shí拓tuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拓 uses 扌, the hand radical, on the left, and 石 on the right as a sound part.

Open 拓 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Change & Process

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