How to Write 开 (kāi) — Meaning “to open; to start; to drive”

Picture two hands (the bottom strokes) pushing up a horizontal bar (the top stroke) to open a door. Imagine yourself saying "open sesame" as the bar lifts up. This visual will help you link the shape to the meaning.

Stroke order is: top horizontal, second shorter horizontal, then left-falling stroke, then right vertical stroke. A common mistake is making the bottom part too symmetrical, but the left stroke is a curved left-falling (丿) while the right is a straight vertical (丨). Keep the top bar short and the bottom strokes spaced evenly.

廾 is a rare radical meaning "two hands" and is not used as a word by itself. 廿 means "twenty" and has four strokes: two verticals inside a top and bottom horizontal (like 廿). In contrast, 开 has a left-falling stroke on the left bottom and means "open, start, drive." Their shapes and uses are completely different.

开 is a very common verb for opening (开窗 - open window), starting (开始 - to start), or driving (开车 - to drive a car). A cultural note: 开 is part of 开心 (kāi xīn, literally "open heart"), meaning happy, because Chinese believe happiness comes from an open heart. It is also used for switching on lights (开灯) and beginning meetings.

Common words containing 开 include: 开始 (kāi shǐ) — to start; to begin; 开车 (kāi chē) — to drive a car; 开心 (kāi xīn) — happy; joyful.