Definition

1. Verb:

   • To declare; to state; to confess: To formally or officially state information, often to an authority. This is the most common legal and administrative usage.
   • To dredge; to clear; to excavate: To remove obstructions or dig out to create or restore a flow, typically for waterways or drains.
   • To open; to inaugurate; to commence: To begin or initiate something formally, such as an event, a school term, or a mine.

2. Adjective:

   • Having the smell of urine; urinous: Describing an odor reminiscent of urine.

Usage Examples

• Verb (to declare):

  • Nghi phạm khai toàn bộ sự thật. (The suspect confessed the whole truth.)
  • Anh ta khai rằng mình vô tội. (He declared that he was innocent.)

• Verb (to dredge):

  • Thành phố cần khai cống để tránh ngập lụt. (The city needs to dredge the sewers to prevent flooding.)
  • Họ đang khai một con kênh mới. (They are excavating a new canal.)

• Verb (to open/commence):

  • Trường sẽ khai giảng vào tuần tới. (The school will open the new term next week.)
  • Lễ hội được khai mạc long trọng. (The festival was inaugurated solemnly.)

• Adjective (smell):

  • Tã của em bé khai lắm. (The baby's diaper smells very strongly of urine.)

Advanced Usage

• "khai báo": to declare, to report (often for official records like customs or software installation).

  • Bạn phải khai báo hải quan khi nhập cảnh. (You must declare at customs when entering the country.)

• "khai triển": to expand, to deploy (used in mathematics or military contexts).

  • Giáo viên khai triển công thức cho học sinh. (The teacher expanded the formula for the students.)

Variants and Related Words

• Khai mạc (v): to inaugurate, to open (a ceremony or event).
• Khai giảng (v): to commence a new school year or course.
• Khai hoang (v): to reclaim virgin land; to pioneer.
• Khai tử (v): to register a death.
• Khai sáng (v): to enlighten.

Synonyms

• Declare: to state formally.
• Dredge: to clean out a channel.
• Inaugurate: to begin formally.
• Pungent (for the adjective sense): having a strong, sharp smell.

Related Idioms

• Khai tâm: to open someone's mind; to introduce someone to a field of knowledge.

  • Cuốn sách này khai tâm cho tôi về triết học. (This book opened my mind to philosophy.)

• Khai bút: the first writing of the Lunar New Year, often for good luck.

  • Ông già khai bút đầu xuân bằng một bài thơ. (The old man performed the first writing of the new year with a poem.)

verb

1. to declare
   • nó khai không thấy gì cả
     He declared that he had seen nothing to dredge up; to expand
   • khai cống rãnh
     to dredge sewers