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开火 (kāi huǒ) — to open fire, to start shooting

Definition

A formal/military term meaning 'to open fire / start shooting'. The light verb 动 is not used; 开火 behaves as a single unit.

verb
to open fireto start shooting

Examples

  • 开火。
    Shì bīng men xiàng dí rén kāi huǒ.
    The soldiers opened fire at the enemy.
  • 。
    Tā men zhī kāi le yí cì huǒ jiù chè tuì le.
    They only opened fire once and then retreated.
  • 。
    Zhǐ huī guān xià lìng kāi huǒ.
    The commander ordered to open fire.

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
火huǒfire

开 means start and 火 means fire, so to start firing.

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.

火 is a simple drawing of a fire, with flames shown rising upward.

Open 火 →
Appears in
Military & Defense5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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