Resultative complement "kai"

Revision as of 04:08, 10 November 2011 by Jonathan.pope (talk | contribs)

开 (kāi) means "to open", but when used as a complement can mean different things with different verbs.

开 used literally to "open up" or to "turn on"

For example:

  • 他 很 着急 地拆 开 信封。
  • 他 睁开 眼睛 看 到 了 一 片 蓝色 的 天空。
  • 来,张开嘴巴,我喂你。
  • 我 每天 下班 回 家的 时候 就 打开 电视 看 垃圾 节目。

开 used to express an action is occurring in a direction away from the speaker. Such actions often involve releasing or spreading out.

For example:

  • 来来,大家散开,别看热闹!
  • 你走开!滚!
  • 你到底想做什么?放开我!

开 used to express solving a problem or getting a weight off one's mind

For example:

  • 我 为 这 件事 一直 想不开,我怕他会自杀!
  • 我 知道 易说难做,但是 你 尽量 看开 一些 吧 。
  • 教授 把 问题 说开 了

Sources and further reading

Books

  • Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) p.342