(kāi huǒ) - to open fire, to start shooting in Mandarin
kāihuǒTraditional: 開火
Translation
to open fire, to start shooting
Word origin
开 (kāi, to open or set going) with 火 (huǒ, fire), the same image English uses in the phrase open fire.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 开 (kāi, to open) + 火 (huǒ, fire)
Stroke order
开
火
Examples
。
The soldiers received the order to open fire.
，。
Do not shoot, he is one of ours.
。
Both sides opened fire at the same time.
。
They fired into the air.
。
Always look carefully before you open fire.
开火 (kāi huǒ) means to open fire. It is a military verb and it belongs to soldiers, police marksmen and war films rather than to a hunter with a shotgun, who simply 开枪 (kāi qiāng, fires a gun).
The second, older sense is domestic and completely unrelated in feel: to light the stove and start cooking. 今天不开火 means nobody is cooking today, we are eating out. Context separates the two effortlessly, but the first time you meet it in a kitchen it is a jolt.
Note that 开火 is intransitive. You cannot open fire on someone with it; for a target you need 向他开火 (fire towards him) or a different verb such as 攻击.
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开火: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "开火" (to open fire, to start shooting): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 48.