TongTong
Sign in

开水 (kāi shuǐ) — boiled water

Definition

noun
boiled water
Measure word · 杯

Examples

  • 开水。
    Mā ma gěi wǒ dǎo le yì bēi kāi shuǐ.
    Mom poured me a cup of boiled water.
  • 开水。
    Lǚ xíng de shí hou wǒ zǒng dài zhe kāi shuǐ.
    I always bring boiled water when traveling.
  • 开水。
    Yòng kāi shuǐ pào chá wèi dào gèng hǎo.
    Making tea with boiled water tastes better.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

开kāiboiled
水shuǐwater

“开” means boiled and “水” means water, giving the sense of boiled water.

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.

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 6Beverages

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.