开花

• Pinyin: kāi huā
• Hanzi breakdown: 开 = 廾 (two hands) + 一 (a bar to lift) — opening; 花 = 艹 (plant radical) + 化 (to transform) — a plant transforming into bloom

Meaning

To bloom; to blossom. Describes a flower opening, and is also used figuratively to mean something flourishing or bearing fruit.

Used literally for plants flowering, but also extended metaphorically to mean bearing fruit, showing results, or spreading positively (e.g. 友谊之花开花结果 the flower of friendship blooms and bears fruit). Common in everyday speech, literary writing, and encouraging contexts.

Examples

1. 院子里的玫瑰花开花了，非常漂亮。 The roses in the courtyard have bloomed — they are beautiful.
2. 春天来了，公园里到处都在开花。 Spring has arrived and flowers are blooming everywhere in the park.
3. 经过多年努力，他们的事业终于开花结果了。 After years of hard work, their business has finally blossomed and borne fruit.

Usage Guide

Context: nature, seasons, figurative, everyday

Tone: positive

Do Say

• 这棵树每年春天都会开花。(This tree blooms every spring.)
• 希望你的努力早日开花结果。(I hope your efforts will bear fruit soon.)

Don't Say

• 这个项目开花了 (Without 结果, 开花 for a project sounds incomplete or premature — prefer 开花结果 to express achieving results, or 取得成果 for formal contexts)

Origin & History

A verb-object compound of 开 (to open) and 花 (flower), literally meaning 'the flower opens'. The metaphorical use extends from this natural image of flowering as a sign of vitality.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal