开
kāi
The moment two halves come apart: 开
The picture Two halves that were pressed shut sliding apart, leaving a gap. 开 parts what was shut and lets something through; 关 brings the halves back together and closes the way.
Where the picture shows up in 开
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the door parts
麻烦你开一下门。
máfan nǐ kāi yíxià mén
Could you get the door, please?
A shut door swinging back under your hand until there is a gap wide enough to walk through
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release what was standing still
我不会开车。
wǒ bú huì kāichē
I can't drive.
A parked car catching its engine and rolling forward off the spot
开车 isn't opening the car — it's releasing a parked car into motion.
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let the flow through
太热了，把空调开一下。
tài rè le, bǎ kōngtiáo kāi yíxià
It's boiling in here — turn on the AC.
The AC louvres tilting open and cold air pouring out into the room
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the gathering opens up
我们下午三点开会。
wǒmen xiàwǔ sān diǎn kāihuì
We have a meeting at three this afternoon.
A closed meeting-room door opening onto a ring of chairs filling up with people
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write it out on paper
医生给我开了药。
yīshēng gěi wǒ kāi le yào
The doctor wrote me a prescription.
A doctor unfolding a blank slip and writing the names of the drugs down it
All of it in one picture
开 is one picture: what was pressed shut coming apart, leaving a gap. The door leaves parted, so you open it; the standing car is released and rolls, so you drive it; the blocked air is let through, so you switch on the AC. A ring of seats opens up, so you hold the meeting; a folded slip is spread out and filled in, so you get your prescription. Wherever 开 shows up, something that was closed has parted and let a way through.