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开枪 (kāi qiāng) — to fire a gun; to shoot

Definition

Separable verb meaning 'to fire a gun / shoot'. 枪 is a measure for shots (开了三枪 = fired three shots); the verb splits before 了 and quantifiers.

verb
to fire a gunto shoot

Examples

  • 开枪。
    Jǐng chá mìng lìng tā bú yào kāi qiāng.
    The police ordered him not to shoot.
  • 。
    Tā cháo tiān kōng kāi le sān qiāng.
    He fired three shots into the sky.
  • 开枪。
    Tā dì yī cì kāi qiāng shí hěn jǐn zhāng.
    He was very nervous the first time he fired a gun.

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
枪qiānggun

开枪 combines 开 (open) and 枪 (gun), literally open the gun, i.e. fire.

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 槍; 枪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
倉
倉cāng槍qiāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 槍 pairs 木 (wood) with 倉 as a sound part; the simplified 枪 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical component.

Open 枪 →
Appears in
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