Meaning of 开关
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- power switch
- gas valve
- to open the city (or frontier) gate
- to open and close
- to switch on and off
How to use 开关
In everyday speech 开关 is mostly a noun for a switch, like a light switch or a power button. You will also see it for a valve, such as a gas valve. Example: 灯的开关在门旁边。(Dēng de kāiguān zài mén pángbiān.) The light switch is next to the door.
开关 is made of two opposites: 开 (kāi) means open or turn on, and 关 (guān) means close or turn off. A switch is the thing that does both, so on plus off gives you 开关.
Common mistake: Learners often use 开关 as a verb to mean turn on a device. In daily speech say 打开 (dǎkāi) or 开 (kāi) for turn on and 关上 (guānshang) or 关 (guān) for turn off, and keep 开关 for the switch itself. Also keep both syllables in the first tone: kāiguān, not kāiguàn.
开关 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.
开 kāi · to open · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
关 guān · mountain pass · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 开关.
| 没关系 | méi guānxi | it doesn't matter |
| 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 |
| 关上 | guānshang | to close (a door); to turn off (light, electrical equipment etc) |
| 开会 | kāihuì | to hold or attend a meeting |
| 离开 | líkāi | to depart; to leave |
| 开心 | kāixīn | to feel happy; to rejoice |
| 关心 | guānxīn | to be concerned about; to care about |
| 走开 | zǒukāi | to leave; to walk away; to beat it; to move aside |
| 分开 | fēnkāi | to separate; to part |
| 关机 | guānjī | to turn off (a machine or device); to finish shooting a film |
Questions about 开关
What does 开关 mean?
开关 (kāiguān) means "power switch; gas valve" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 开关?
开关 is made of 2 characters: 开 (4 strokes), 关 (6 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 开关 an HSK word?
Yes. 开关 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 开关 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 开关 is written 開關.
How do I say turn on the switch in Chinese?
Say 打开开关 (dǎkāi kāiguān) for turn on the switch and 关掉开关 (guāndiào kāiguān) for turn it off. You can also just say 开灯 (kāi dēng) or 关灯 (guān dēng) for lights.
What measure word goes with 开关?
The most common measure word is 个 (gè), as in 一个开关 (yí gè kāiguān), one switch.