DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

開口

简开口 · 繁開口

Mandarin · pinyin kāi kǒu

to open one's mouth
to start to talk

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

開: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
口: kǒu · mouth; open end; entrance, gate
开: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–3 · kai1 kou3

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

3character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

開口 · find source passages ↗ · 开口 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hoi1 hau2

Cantonese word readings for 開口. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to open one's mouth; (impersonal) to have an opening
to start talking or singing
to speak up (to dare to speak)
to laugh out loud
to crack open
to sharpen (a new knife or pair of scissors) before use
to breach a dam
(literary) to eat

noun

opening
(Chinese phonetics) short for 開口呼／开口呼 (kāikǒuhū, “open-mouth sounds”)
(aviation) open jaw

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack