Chinese word

开采

Pronunciation

Pinyinkāi cǎi

Meaning

  • verbexploit

Example

公司计划在附近开采石油。gōng sī jì huà zài fù jìn kāi cǎi shí yóu

The company plans to exploit nearby oil resources.

Illustration for 开采 (exploit)

More examples

当地政府限制在山区开采矿产。dāng dì zhèng fǔ xiàn zhì zài shān qū kāi cǎi kuàng chǎn

The local government limits mineral mining in the mountains.

Core concept

A deliberate process of opening the earth and bringing useful natural resources out from below.

Common phrases

  • 开采矿产kāi cǎi kuàng chǎn

    exploit mineral resources

  • 开采煤炭kāi cǎi méi tàn

    mine coal

  • 开采石油kāi cǎi shí yóu

    extract oil

Similar words

开发kāi fā: Develop resources or land by studying and preparing them for use.
采矿cǎi kuàng: Take ore and other mineral resources out of the ground for use.
采摘cǎi zhāi: Gather fruits or crops by picking them from plants by hand.
采集cǎi jí: Find and collect wild plants, specimens, or other useful materials.

Definition in Chinese

通过挖掘、钻探或抽取等手段，从地下或地层取出矿产、石油、天然气等自然资源的动作或过程。tōng guò wā jué zuān tàn huò chōu qǔ děng shǒu duàn cóng dì xià huò dì céng qǔ chū kuàng chǎn shí yóu tiān rán qì děng zì rán zī yuán de dòng zuò huò guò chéng

Word origin

The compound joins 开 (kāi, "open") with 采 (cǎi, "gather"), presenting resource extraction as opening the earth and collecting what it contains.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, this verb belongs mainly to industry and environmental news, while fruit and vegetables are described with separate harvesting verbs.

Other meanings

  • mineverb
  • miningnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 开采量kāi cǎi liàngmining volumenoun
  • 开采权kāi cǎi quánmining rightsnoun
  • 开采成本kāi cǎi chéng běnmining costsnoun

Word lists with this word