K
kāfēi 咖啡 N coffee (杯 bēi) ■ 这种咖啡很好 喝。Zhè zhǒng kāfēi hěn hǎohē. This kind of coffee
tastes good. ■ 从厨房飘来咖啡的香味。Cóng chúfáng piāolai kāfēi de xiāngwèi. The aroma of
coffee floated in from the kitchen. 冲咖啡 chōng kāfēi make (instant) coffee / 煮咖啡 zhǔ kāfēi brew
coffee
NOTE: 咖啡 kāfēi is one of the few transliterations (音译词 yīnyìcí) in Chinese vocabulary, as it represents
more or less the sound of “coffee.”
kǎ 卡 N card (张 zhāng) ■ 这张卡很重要,你要放 好了。Zhè zhāng kǎ hěn zhòngyào, nǐ yào
fànghǎo le. This is a very important card. Keep it safely. 贺卡 hèkǎ greeting card / 信用卡 xìnyòng kǎ
credit card / 银行卡 yínháng kǎ banking card
kǎchē 卡车 N lorry, truck (辆 liàng) ■ 开过来一辆 卡车。Kāi guòlái yí liàng kǎchē. A truck is
coming. ■ 我叔叔是个卡车司机。Wǒ shūshu shì ge kǎchē sījī. My uncle is a truck driver.
NOTE: The composition of 卡车 kǎchē is semi-transliteration (半音译词 bàn yīnyìcí): 卡 kǎ represents the
sound of the English word “car” and 车 chē means vehicle. See 咖啡 kāfēi for an example of
transliteration.
kǎtōng 卡通 N cartoon, caricature
kāi 开 TRAD 開 V 1 open, open up (ANTONYM 关 guān) ■ 开开门!Kāikai mén! Open the door, please! 2
turn on, switch on (ANTONYM 关 guān) ■ 天黑了,开灯吧。Tiān hēi le, kāi dēng ba. It’s dark. Let’s
turn on the light. 3 drive (a vehicle), pilot (a plane) ■ 我会开汽车,不会开飞机。Wǒ huì kāi
qìchē, bú huì kāi fēijī. I can drive a car, but I can’t pilot a plane.
kāicǎi 开采 V mine, excavate
kāichú 开除 V expel 被学校开除 bèi xuéxiào kāichú be expelled from the school
kāifā 开发 [comp: 开 open + 发 develop] V develop (resources, products, etc.), open up and exploit ■ 这
个地区资源丰富,经济落后,需要开发。Zhège dìqū zīyuán fēngfù, jīngjì luòhòu, xūyào kāifā.
This region is rich in natural resources but is backward economically. It needs developing. ■ 我们
公司花 大量资金研究开发新产品。Wǒmen gōngsī huā dàliàng zījīn yánjiū kāifā xīn chǎnpín.
Our company spends large amounts of funds on researching and developing new products.
kāifàng 开放 [comp: 开 open + 放 release] V open, open up ■ 这个展览会从下周起对外开放。 Zhège
zhǎnlǎnhuì cóng xià zhōu qǐ duìwài kāifàng. This exhibition will open to the public next week.
kāiguān 开关 N switch ■ 这个机器的开关坏 了。Zhège jīqì de kāiguān huài le. The switch of this
machine is out of order.
kāihuì 开会 [v+obj: 开 open up + 会 meeting] V attend a meeting, hold a meeting ■ 我们最好开 个会,
讨论一下这个问题。Wǒmen zuìhǎo kāi ge huì, tǎolùn yíxià zhège wèntí. We’d best have a
meeting to discuss this issue.
kāikuò 开阔 [comp: 开 open + 阔 wide] ADJ open and wide, expansive, spacious
kāilǎng 开朗 ADJ broad-minded and outspoken, always cheerful 性格开朗 xìnggé kāilǎng of cheerful
disposition
kāimén 开门 N open for business ■ “这里的商 店什么时候开门?”“九点钟开门。”“Zhèli de
shāngdiàn shénme shíhou kāimén?” “Jiǔ diǎnzhōng kāimén.” “When do stores here open for
business?” “Nine o’clock.”
kāimíng 开明 ADJ civilized, enlightened
kāimù 开幕 [v+obj: 开 open + 幕 curtain] V (of a play, a ceremony, conference, etc.) open, start
kāimù shì 开幕式 N opening ceremony
kāipì 开辟 [comp: 开 open up + 辟 open up] V open up, start ■ 这里要开辟成特别经济区。Zhèli yào