開 — “to open” in Japanese

Grade 3かい, ひら, あ

Radical ⾨ · radical 169 The building block this kanji is filed under

“to open” in Japanese is 開, read kai, hira, a (かい, ひら, あ). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 開く (to open).

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What does 開 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	開
Meaning	to open
Readings	かい, ひら, あ
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	開く (to open)

How to read 開

開 is read kai (かい) or hira (ひら) or a (あ) depending on the word.

Words with 開

展開てんかい
満開まんかい
開花かいか
開通かいつう
開業かいぎょう
開発かいはつ
開放かいほう
開始かいし
開かれひらかれto open
開くto open

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Kanji read the same way as 開

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

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Updated: 2026-08-28