TongTong
Sign in

打开 (dǎ kāi) — to open (a door, window, book, container, etc.); to turn on (a device, light, computer, etc.)

Definition

打开 is the everyday verb meaning 'to open' (doors, windows, books, containers) or 'to turn on' (devices, lights). It pairs the action verb 打 with 开 — 开 alone also means 'open/turn on' but is shorter and also covers 'start' or 'operate'.

verb
to open (a door, window, book, container, etc.)to turn on (a device, light, computer, etc.)

Examples

  • 打开。
    Qǐng dǎ kāi chuāng hu.
    Please open the window.
  • 打开。
    Tā dǎ kāi le diàn shì.
    He turned on the TV.
  • 打开。
    Wǒ dǎ kāi le shū.
    I opened the book.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

打dǎapply an action
开kāiopen

The first part means apply an action, and the second means open; together they mean to open or switch on.

Characters in this word

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
丁
丁dīng打dǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

打 uses 扌, a hand, to show an action done with the hand, and 丁 to give the sound.

Open 打 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 21000 Most Frequent Chinese Words2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 2 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.