展开 meaning in English
to unfold; to spread out; to open up; to launch; to carry out
Meaning of 展开
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to unfold; to spread out; to open up
- to launch; to carry out
How to use 展开
展开 is used both literally, for unfolding things like paper or wings, and figuratively, for starting and carrying out activities such as discussions, investigations, or campaigns. 我们展开了讨论。(Wǒmen zhǎnkāi le tǎolùn.) We started a discussion.
展 (zhǎn) means to stretch out or display, and 开 (kāi) means to open. Put them together and you get something being opened up and spread out, like unrolling a map or launching a project.
Common mistake: Learners often use 展开 where 打开 (dǎkāi) is needed. You 打开 a door, a box, or an app, but you 展开 something folded or a large-scale activity. Also remember 展 is third tone, zhǎn, not zhàn like 站 (zhàn, to stand).
展开 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
展 zhǎn · to open · 10 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
开 kāi · to open · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 展开.
| 打开 | dǎkāi | to open; to show (a ticket) |
| 开玩笑 | kāi wánxiào | to play a joke; to make fun of; to joke |
| 开车 | kāichē | to drive a car (or train etc); (slang) to post sexual content online; to make a sexual jok |
| 开会 | kāihuì | to hold or attend a meeting |
| 离开 | líkāi | to depart; to leave |
| 开心 | kāixīn | to feel happy; to rejoice |
| 走开 | zǒukāi | to leave; to walk away; to beat it; to move aside |
| 分开 | fēnkāi | to separate; to part |
| 开学 | kāixué | (of a student) to start school; (of a semester) to begin |
| 开机 | kāijī | to start an engine; to boot up (a computer) |
| 开始 | kāishǐ | to begin; to start; beginning; start |
| 发展 | fāzhǎn | development; growth |
Questions about 展开
What does 展开 mean?
展开 (zhǎnkāi) means "to unfold; to spread out; to open up; to launch; to carry out".
How do you write 展开?
展开 is made of 2 characters: 展 (10 strokes), 开 (4 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 展开 an HSK word?
Yes. 展开 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 展开 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 展开 is written 展開.
What is the difference between 展开 and 开展 (kāizhǎn)?
Both can mean to launch or carry out an activity, as in 开展工作 or 展开工作. Only 展开 has the physical meaning of unfolding or spreading something out, so you cannot say 开展地图 for opening a map.
Can 展开 be used to talk about a story or plot?
Yes. 故事在一个小村子里展开 (gùshi zài yí gè xiǎo cūnzi lǐ zhǎnkāi) means the story unfolds in a small village. It describes events developing or taking place.