Shareables · HSK 2 · 形 · Easy to confuse
形近 · Characters that look like 开
开 next to 介、升、丹 — one stroke apart, nothing else in common.
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开kāito open (transitive or intransitive)/(of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start/to turn on; to put in operation; to operate; to run/to boil/to write out (a prescription, check, invoice etc)/(directional complement) away; off/carat (gold)/abbr. for Kelvin, 开尔文
形近字 · LOOK ALIKE, READ DIFFERENTLY
Same shape at a glance. Different sound, different meaning.
| Character | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 开 | kāi | to open (transitive or intransitive)/(of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start/to turn on; to put in operation; to operate; to run/to boil/to write out (a prescription, check, invoice etc)/(directional complement) away; off/carat (gold)/abbr. for Kelvin, 开尔文 |
| 介 | jiè | to introduce/to lie between/between/shell/armor |
| 升 | shēng | to ascend/to rise to the rank of/to promote/to hoist/liter/measure for dry grain equal to one-tenth dou 斗/variant of 升/variant of 升 |
| 丹 | dān | red/pellet/powder/cinnabar |
| 井 | jǐng | Jing, one of the 28 constellations of Chinese astronomy/surname Jing/a well/neat/orderly |
| 卉 | huì | plants |
What this card is
A one-page Chinese lesson from the HSK 2 set, filed under 形 · Easy to confuse. 开 next to 介、升、丹 — one stroke apart, nothing else in common.
How to use it
Open the card studio above, choose a size (9:16 for TikTok and Stories, 4:5 for a feed, 1.91:1 for a link preview), then save the PNG or share it directly. The same content is written out on this page, so you can read or copy it as text.
Where it fits
The source: 开 in the dictionary.
See where this level sits in the HSK levels guide, browse every card, or look any word up in the dictionary.
More from HSK 2
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- 追 · Follow up, genuinely curious — History, food, their village — chase whatever thread they just opened. Very little language unlocks hundreds of hours of practice.
- 问 · 多久 How long, how many — 多久 asks a length of time and follows the verb; 几 counts and takes a measure word after it.
- 问 · 怎么 How, and what do you think — 怎么 asks the manner of doing something; 怎么样 asks for an opinion or a state.
A card is one idea. The course is the map they all sit on. HSK 0 through HSK 6 on a prerequisite-ordered knowledge graph: active recall in small steps, reviews timed to land just before you would forget, and speaking practice built on the comment + question method. From $49 once for lifetime access.
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