开kāi
Character evolution
开
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Simplified · Today
繁体
Traditional Chinese
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Shuowen
The character 开 is made of a simplified door (门) on the left and a hand (又) pulling a horizontal latch on the right; in the oracle bone script it pictured a hand lifting the bar that held a door shut, giving the original meaning “to open.” The shape is retained because it directly illustrates the physical act of opening a door.
Pinyin
kāi· HSK 1