扩

• Pinyin: kuò
• Hanzi breakdown: 扩 = 扌(hand) + 广 (wide) — to expand with hands, simplified from 擴

Meaning

To expand; to enlarge; to extend. The core verb for making something bigger or wider.

A bound morpheme that rarely appears alone in modern Chinese but forms many common compounds: 扩大, 扩展, 扩建, 扩散, etc. Understanding this root helps with vocabulary building.

Examples

1. 城市不断向外扩，郊区变成了新城区。 The city keeps expanding outward; suburbs have become new urban areas.
2. 他把生意扩到了海外市场。 He expanded his business to overseas markets.
3. 把图片扩一下，我看不清细节。 Enlarge the picture a bit; I can't see the details clearly.

Usage Guide

Context: growth, development, enlargement

Tone: active

Do Say

• 公司计划扩大生产规模。(The company plans to expand its production scale.)
• 把画面扩大一点。(Enlarge the image a bit.)

Don't Say

• 单独使用扩而不接宾语或其他成分。(扩 is typically a bound morpheme — use 扩大, 扩展, etc. in complete sentences)

Origin & History

Simplified from 擴, which contains 扌(hand) + 廣 (wide). The hand radical suggests manual action of widening.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal