HSK 3.0 Level 2 · Everyday Verbs

打开 dǎkāi “to open” in Chinese

Traditional 打開

What 打开 means

  1. to open
  2. to show (a ticket)
  3. to turn on
  4. to switch on

How to say 打开

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale打dǎ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale开kāi1st tone, high and level

打开 in a sentence

  1. 把瓶子打开。

    Bǎ píngzi dǎkāi.

    Open the bottle.

    Sentence #1411634 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 不要打开你的书。

    Búyào dǎkāi nǐ de shū.

    Don’t open your book.

    Sentence #731725 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 把灯打开。我什么都看不见了。

    Bǎ dēng dǎkāi. Wǒ shénme dōu kàn bu jiàn le.

    Turn on the light. I can’t see anything.

    Sentence #794237 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 打开 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 打 (dǎ) with each of its parts in a different colour
打dǎto hit; to strike
  • 扌hand form of 手 · shǒuMeaning part
  • 丁part of the characterSound part

Memory aidA hand 扌 striking a nail 丁: to hit. It is now used for many actions, such as 打电话 (dǎ diànhuà) “to phone”.

The character 开 (kāi) with each of its parts in a different colour
开kāito open
  • 一one · yī
  • 廾two hands · gǒng

Memory aidSimplified from 開: two hands lifting the bar of a gate 門: to open.

How to write 打开

打 5 strokes · 开 4 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

打开 (dǎkāi) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 打开 (dǎkāi). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 打开

Words with 打

打电话dǎ diànhuà · to make a phone call打dǎ · to hit打车dǎchē · to take a taxi (in town)打篮球dǎlánqiú · to play basketball打扫dǎsǎo · to clean打算dǎsuàn · to plan打扮dǎban · to decorate打扰dǎrǎo · to disturb打印dǎyìn · to print (with a printer)打折dǎzhé · to give a discount

Words with 开

开kāi · to open开车kāichē · to drive a car开始kāishǐ · to begin开学kāixué · to start a new school term离开líkāi · leave开会kāihuì · to have a meeting开花kāihuā · to bloom分开fēnkāi · to separate开机kāijī · to switch on (a device)开心kāixīn · to feel happy

More words: Everyday Verbs

听见tīngjiàn · to hear做饭zuòfàn · to prepare a meal帮bāng · to help打dǎ · to hit动dòng · to move飞fēi · to fly考kǎo · to take an exam跑pǎo · to run

FAQs

打开 (dǎkāi) means “to open” or “to show (a ticket)”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 2 word.
Say it dǎkāi: dǎ with a 3rd tone, then kāi with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 打开 is written 打開. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type dakai with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 打开 from the suggestions. Typing dakai into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
打开 is an HSK 3.0 Level 2 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 2 word list. It is not on the older HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.