开锅 (kāi guō) — to boil (of liquid in a pot); to remove the lid from a cooking pot

Definition

In cooking, 开锅 literally means the pot is boiling — used when water or soup reaches a rolling boil, signaling it's time to add ingredients. Colloquial usage (often as 开锅了) is a kitchen cue, not a general term for boiling.

verb
to boil (of liquid in a pot)to remove the lid from a cooking pot

Examples

  • 开锅，。
    Shuǐ kāi guō le, kě yǐ xià miàn tiáo le.
    The water is boiling; you can put the noodles in now.
  • 。
    Děng tāng kāi le guō zài fàng yán.
    Wait until the soup has boiled before adding salt.
  • ，。
    Guō kāi le, kuài bǎ huǒ guān xiǎo.
    The pot is boiling; quickly turn down the heat.

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
锅guōpot

开 (open) and 锅 (pot) combine to mean boiling or taking the lid off a pot.

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 鍋; 锅 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi鍋guō
Same sound today

In the traditional form 鍋, 金 marks metal and 咼 provides the sound; the simplified 锅 is a later shorthand.

Open 锅 →

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