The character 开 — “open”: how to write it and what it means
open; drive
The Chinese character 开 is read kāi and means “open; drive”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 开
开 has 4 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 开, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
Words with 开
- 开车drive a carHSK 1
- 开始beginHSK 2
- 打开open; turn onHSK 2
- 开学start of schoolHSK 2
- 开心happy, cheerfulHSK 3
- 开机turn on (phone)HSK 3
- 分开separate; split upHSK 3
- 离开leaveHSK 3
- 开花bloomHSK 3
- 开会hold a meetingHSK 3
- 开玩笑jokeHSK 4
- 开水boiling waterHSK 5
- 开通activate (a service); open (a line)HSK 5
- 开业open (of a business)HSK 5
- 开放open; open upHSK 5
- 开发develop, exploitHSK 5
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 开?
开 has 4 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 开 mean?
开 means “open; drive”. It appears in 开车 (“drive a car”), 开始 (“begin”), 打开 (“open”), 开学 (“start of school”).
How do you pronounce 开?
开 is read kāi. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 开 have?
4 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 开 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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