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開國

简开国 · 繁開國

Mandarin · pinyin kāi guó

to found a state
to open a closed country

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Characters in this entry

開: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
國: Look up this written character
开: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
国: guó · nation, country, nation-state

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2 · kai1 guo2

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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.

開國 · find source passages ↗ · 开国 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

verb

(intransitive, verb-object) to found a state, country or kingdom
to found a state, country or kingdom — (historical) to found a vassal state
(intransitive, verb-object) to open up a country to Westerners (for trade and diplomatic relationship)

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

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