Mandarin Chinese reference
开
kāi
to open
Verb pattern · 14 form tables
Mandarin verbs do not change for tense. These tables show aspect, negation, questions and sentence patterns. Short phrases omit the subject; full examples retain theirs.
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Aspect
Plain statement
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | kāiopen |
Completed action
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | kāi leopened |
Experience
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | kāi guohave opened before |
In progress
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | zài kāibe opening |
Ongoing state
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | kāi zhebe open |
Future
About to
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | yào kāi lebe about to open |
Will / can
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | huì kāiwill open |
Negative
Not
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | bù kāido not open |
Did not
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | méi kāidid not open |
Questions
Yes no question
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | kāi ma?do you open? |
A not A question
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | kāi bu kāi?do you open? |
Patterns
Affirmative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| plain | wǒ kāi ménI open the door |
| completed | wǒ kāi le ménI opened the door |
| in progress | wǒ zài kāi ménI am opening the door |
| state holding | mén kāi zheThe door is open |
| state, with something in it | chuānghu kāi zhe yì tiáo fèngThe window is open a crack |
| as the manner of another action | tā kāi zhe mén shuìjiàoHe sleeps with the door open |
Negated
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| plain | wǒ bù kāi ménI do not open the door |
| completed | wǒ méi kāi ménI did not open the door |
| in progress | wǒ méi zài kāi ménI am not opening the door |
| state holding | mén méi kāi zheThe door is not open |
| state, with something in it | chuānghu méi kāi zheThe window is not open |
| as the manner of another action | tā méi kāi zhe mén shuìjiàoHe did not sleep with the door open |
Question
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| plain | nǐ kāi mén ma?Do you open the door? |
| completed | nǐ kāi mén le ma?Did you open the door? |
| in progress | nǐ zài kāi mén ma?Are you opening the door? |
| state holding | mén kāi zhe ma?Is the door open? |
| state, with something in it | chuānghu kāi zhe ma?Is the window open? |
| as the manner of another action | tā kāi zhe mén shuìjiào ma?Does he sleep with the door open? |
Forms from the Loquus reference. Only supplied forms are shown. Browse all Mandarin Chinese entries.