Resultative complement "kai"

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

Structure

Verb + 开

Examples

开 can be used literally to "open up" or to "turn on":

  • 他 急忙 拆 开 信封。He nervously opened the envelope.
  • 睁开 眼睛 看 到 了 一 片 蓝色 的 天空。He opened his eyes and saw a clear blue sky.
  • 来,张开 嘴巴,我 喂 你。Come on, open your mouth. I'll feed you.
  • 我 每天 一 下班 回 家 就 打开 电视 看 垃圾 节目。Every day, as soon as I get off work, I go home, turn on the TV and watch trashy shows.

开 can be used to express an action that is occurring in a direction away from the speaker. When used in this sense, 开 is generally used with verbs involving releasing, unfolding or spreading out:

  • 来来,大家散开,别 看 热闹 了!Come on. Break it up. Don't watch this.
  • 走开 滚!Get lost!
  • 关于 章子怡 的 丑闻 很快 就 传开 了.A lot has been rumored about Zhang Ziyi's scandal.
  • 你 到底 想 做 什么?快点 放开我!What on earth do you want to do? Hurry up and tell me!

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

  • 他 一直 想不开 这 件事 ,我 怕 他 会 做 坏 事!He hasn't been able to get this off his mind. I'm scared he's going to something bad!
  • 我 知道 易说难做,但是 你 尽量 看开 一些 吧 。I know it's easier said than done, but you should still look at it a little.
  • 我们 把 问题 说开 了。We talked about the problem openly.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

HSK5