开 (kāi) — open / drive / turn on / start | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

开 (kāi) is one of those small, everywhere verbs whose English translation shifts with every object. Its core image is something that was shut or still becoming open, active, or in motion — a door opens, a light comes on, an engine runs, a meeting gets under way, a flower unfolds. English splits these across "open," "turn on," "drive," "start," and "bloom"; Chinese keeps one verb and lets the object tell you which. Crucially, for both physical openings and electrical appliances the antonym is the same word — 关 (guān) "close / switch off" — so 开/关 is the pair you toggle everything with.

Sense 1: open (a door, window, mouth)

The literal core: cause something shut to be open. This is the sense that pairs directly with 关.

快开门，快递到了。

kuài kāi mén, kuàidì dào le

Open the door quick, the delivery's here.

有点儿闷，我能开一下窗户吗？

yǒudiǎnr mēn, wǒ néng kāi yíxià chuānghu ma

It's a bit stuffy — may I open the window for a moment?

Sense 2: turn on / switch on (lights, devices)

Chinese does not "turn" a device on — it "opens" it. Lights, TVs, air conditioners, computers, taps: all 开. And to switch them off you "close" them: 关.

天黑了，开灯吧。

tiān hēi le, kāi dēng ba

It's dark now — turn on the light.

你能帮我开一下空调吗？太热了。

nǐ néng bāng wǒ kāi yíxià kōngtiáo ma? tài rè le

Can you turn the AC on for me? It's so hot.

他一回家就开电视。

tā yì huí jiā jiù kāi diànshì

He turns on the TV the moment he gets home.

Sense 3: drive / operate / pilot

For vehicles and machines you operate, the verb is 开: 开车 "drive," 开飞机 "fly a plane," 开船 "sail." Note that 开车 is 开 + vehicle, a self-contained verb-object; it is not a motion verb, so a destination needs 去 or 到 (开车去机场 "drive to the airport").

对不起，我不会开车。

duìbuqǐ, wǒ bú huì kāi chē

Sorry, I can't drive.

他开了一整天的车，累坏了。

tā kāi le yì zhěng tiān de chē, lèi huài le

He drove the whole day and is exhausted.

开飞机比开车难多了。

kāi fēijī bǐ kāi chē nán duō le

Flying a plane is far harder than driving.

Sense 4: start / hold (meetings, shops, terms)

开 launches events and enterprises: 开会 "hold / attend a meeting," 开店 "open a shop," 开学 "the term begins," and the disyllabic 开始 (kāishǐ) "begin." Watch the split: 开会 = hold a meeting, but the general "begin" that introduces another verb is 开始.

我们下午两点开会，别迟到。

wǒmen xiàwǔ liǎng diǎn kāi huì, bié chídào

We've got a meeting at 2 p.m. — don't be late.

电影几点开始？

diànyǐng jǐ diǎn kāishǐ

What time does the film start?

他去年在市中心开了一家咖啡店。

tā qùnián zài shì zhōngxīn kāi le yì jiā kāfēi diàn

He opened a coffee shop downtown last year.

Sense 5: bloom (of flowers) + the 'apart / open' complement

Flowers "open" too: 花开了 "the flowers are out." And stuck onto another verb, 开 becomes a complement meaning open / apart / away: 打开 "open up," 分开 "separate," 走开 / 让开 "get out of the way."

春天到了，公园里的花都开了。

chūntiān dào le, gōngyuán lǐ de huā dōu kāi le

Spring is here — the flowers in the park are all in bloom.

请把这个箱子打开检查一下。

qǐng bǎ zhège xiāngzi dǎkāi jiǎnchá yíxià

Please open this box for an inspection.

他们两年前就分开了。

tāmen liǎng nián qián jiù fēnkāi le

They split up two years ago.

Key collocations

Phrase	Pinyin	Meaning
开门	kāi mén	open the door / (a shop) open for business
开灯	kāi dēng	turn on the light
开电视	kāi diànshì	turn on the TV
开空调	kāi kōngtiáo	turn on the AC
开车	kāi chē	drive
开飞机	kāi fēijī	fly a plane
开会	kāi huì	hold / attend a meeting
开始	kāishǐ	begin, start
开学	kāi xué	term / school begins
打开	dǎkāi	open up
分开	fēnkāi	separate, part
花开了	huā kāi le	the flowers are in bloom

Grammar notes

Two of these deserve pointers to their own pages. 开始 is a phase verb — it introduces the verb it launches (开始下雨 "it starts raining," 开始工作 "start working") and belongs with 继续 and 停 on the 开始 / 继续 / 停 phase verbs page. As a resultative complement, 开 means "open / apart / detached" and generalises well beyond doors: 打开 "open," 拉开 "pull apart," 想不开 "can't get over it" — see 开 as an 'off / apart' complement.

For the appliance and door senses, always keep 关 (guān) in mind as the mirror: 开灯 / 关灯, 开门 / 关门, 开机 / 关机. And because 开 is often paired with the hyper-flexible light verb 打, the resultative 打开 "open up" sits next to the whole 打 (light-verb) family; compare the entry for 打.

Common Mistakes

1. Calquing "turn on" with 转 (turn). Devices are opened, not turned.

❌ 请转开电视。

Incorrect — 'turn on' a device is 开 (or 打开), never 转开.

✅ 请打开电视。

qǐng dǎkāi diànshì

Please turn on the TV.

2. Treating 开车 as a motion verb with a destination. 开车 is 开 + vehicle; to reach a place you add 去 / 到.

❌ 我开车学校。

Incorrect — 开车 doesn't take a place object. Add 去: 开车去学校.

✅ 我开车去学校。

wǒ kāi chē qù xuéxiào

I drive to school.

3. Using 开 (or 'not 开') for switching off. The opposite of 开 is 关, a different word.

❌ 睡觉前请不开灯。

Incorrect — 'turn off the light' is 关灯, not 不开灯.

✅ 睡觉前请关灯。

shuìjiào qián qǐng guān dēng

Please turn off the light before you sleep.

4. Saying 开了 when you mean an event 'started'. 开了 fits flowers or a shop; a film or a meeting beginning is 开始了.

❌ 电影已经开了。

Incorrect for 'the film has started' — 开了 suits a flower/shop. Use 开始了.

✅ 电影已经开始了。

diànyǐng yǐjīng kāishǐ le

The film has already started.

Key Takeaways

One verb 开 covers open (开门), turn on (开灯, 开空调), drive / operate (开车, 开飞机), start / hold (开会, 开始), and bloom (花开了) — the object tells you which.
The mirror for doors and devices is 关 (guān): 开/关灯, 开/关门. "Turn off" is 关, never 不开.
开车 is a verb-object, not a motion verb: add 去 / 到 for a destination.
开始 introduces another verb ("begin to…"); reserve bare 开了 for flowers, shops, and machines.
As a complement, 开 means open / apart (打开, 分开, 走开).

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