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开门见山

*The explanations on this page are generated by AI. Please note that they may contain inaccurate information.

1. Basic Information

  • Pinyin: kāi mén jiàn shān
  • English Translation: Opening the door to see the mountain (getting straight to the point)
  • Idiom Composition: 「开」(To open)+「门」(Door or gate)+「见」(To see or behold)+「山」(Mountain (here serving as a metaphor for the main subject or core issue))
  • Meaning: To get straight to the point from the very beginning of a speech or piece of writing without any roundabout preamble. It describes a direct and efficient style of communication.

2. Detailed Meaning and Nuances

「开门见山」 contains the following nuances:

  • Immediacy: The sequence of 'opening' and 'seeing' emphasizes the speed of reaching the core issue without the need for social cushions or lengthy introductions.
  • Clarity: It signifies that the speaker's intentions are transparent and not hidden behind vague language, a trait highly valued in professional settings.

3. Usage

「开门见山」 is mainly used in the following contexts:

  • Business and Meetings: Used to encourage efficiency or to signal that one is skipping formalities to address the core agenda immediately.
    • Example:「时间有限,我们就开门见山,直接讨论预算问题吧。」
      (Since time is limited, let's get straight to the point and discuss the budget issues directly.)
  • Writing and Speech Style: Used to describe or praise a style of writing that avoids flowery introductions and identifies the theme immediately.
    • Example:「这篇文章开门见山地指出了目前教育制度存在的弊端。」
      (This article gets straight to the point by identifying the flaws in the current education system from the very first paragraph.)

Additional Examples:

  1. 我不喜欢拐弯抹角,咱们还是开门见山吧。
    (I don't like beating around the bush; let's get straight to the point.)
  2. 他一进办公室就开门见山地提出了辞职。
    (As soon as he entered the office, he straightforwardly submitted his resignation.)
  3. 与其互相猜测,不如开门见山把话说清楚。
    (Instead of guessing each other's intentions, it's better to speak candidly and clear things up.)

4. Cultural Background and Notes

  • Origin: Derived from a poem by the Tang Dynasty (唐代) poet Liu Deren (刘得仁) titled 'Qinglong Temple Monastery' (青龙寺僧院), which contains the line: 'This place is worth spending the whole day; opening the door, one sees several peaks' (此地堪终日,开门见数峰).
  • Evolution: Originally a literal description of beautiful scenery, it was later adopted in Song Dynasty (宋代) literary criticism to describe writing that hits the mark immediately without unnecessary filler.
  • Modern Nuance: In contemporary Chinese, it carries a very positive connotation, reflecting the value placed on efficiency and honesty in modern society and business environments.

5. Similar and Opposite Idioms

6. Summary

开门见山 (kāi mén jiàn shān) is an idiom used to describe getting straight to the heart of a matter immediately, much like seeing a mountain the moment you open your door. In modern contexts, especially business and debate, it represents a positive, efficient, and candid communication style.

Featured in the Chuken exam (Japan's Chinese test)Pre-Level 1

Idiom Essay

kāi mén jiàn shān
开门见山
Straight to the Point
yǒu shí hòu有时候,gēn跟bié rén别人liáo tiān聊天,nǐ你kě néng可能huì会yǒu有zhè zhǒng这种gǎn jué感觉:duì fāng对方shuō说le了hěn很jiǔ久,rào绕le了hěn很duō多quān zi圈子,pū diàn铺垫le了hěn很duō多bèi jǐng背景,kě可nǐ你hái shì还是méi没tīng听míng bái明白——tā他dào dǐ到底xiǎng想shuō说shén me什么?

Sometimes, when chatting with others, you might have this feeling: the other person has been talking for a long time, going in circles and providing a lot of background, yet you still don't understand—what exactly are they trying to say?

wèi le为了lǐ mào礼貌,huò zhě或者wèi le为了ān quán安全,rén men人们wǎng wǎng往往xí guàn习惯bǎ把zhēn zhèng真正de的yì tú意图cáng藏zài在zuì hòu最后。

For the sake of politeness or safety, people often tend to hide their true intentions at the very end.

dàn但zài在zhōng wén中文lǐ里,yǒu有yí gè一个chéng yǔ成语,zhuān mén专门yòng lái用来xíng róng形容nà zhǒng那种wán quán完全xiāng fǎn相反de的fēng gé风格,jiào叫“kāi mén jiàn shān开门见山”。

But in Chinese, there is an idiom specifically used to describe the exact opposite style, called 开门见山.

zhè ge这个cí词de的huà miàn画面gǎn感fēi cháng非常qiáng强。

This phrase has a very strong sense of imagery.

shì zhe试着xiǎng xiàng想象yī xià一下:nǐ你zhù住zài在yī jiān一间shān山lǐ里de的fáng zi房子lǐ里。

Try to imagine: you live in a house in the mountains.

dāng当nǐ你tuī kāi推开mén门de的nà那yī shùn jiān一瞬间,bù不xū yào需要zǒu guò走过cháng cháng长长de的zǒu láng走廊,yě也bù不xū yào需要chuān guò穿过huā yuán花园,gèng更méi yǒu没有yún wù云雾zhē dǎng遮挡。

The moment you push open the door, you don't need to walk through long corridors, nor do you need to pass through a garden, and there are no clouds or mist blocking the view.

chù lì矗立zài在nǐ你yǎn qián眼前de的,zhí jiē直接jiù shì就是yī zuò一座dà shān大山。

Standing right before your eyes is a great mountain.

zhè zhǒng这种gǎn jué感觉shì是tū rán突然de的,yě也shì是jí qí极其qīng xī清晰de的。

This feeling is sudden and extremely clear.

wǒ men我们zài在shēng huó生活zhōng中yòng用“kāi mén jiàn shān开门见山”,zhǐ指de的jiù shì就是shuō huà说话huò或xiě写wén zhāng文章shí时,méi yǒu没有rèn hé任何duō yú多余de的kè tào客套,yě也bù不guǎi wān mò jiǎo拐弯抹角,dì yī jù huà第一句话jiù就zhí jiē直接jìn rù进入zhǔ tí主题。

In life, we use 开门见山 to refer to speaking or writing without any redundant pleasantries or beating around the bush, getting straight to the main topic from the very first sentence.

zhè这qí shí其实bìng并bù不róng yì容易zuò dào做到。

This is actually not easy to do.

zài在yí gè一个jiǎng jiū讲究hán xù含蓄、xí guàn习惯“tīng huà听话tīng yīn听音”de的wén huà文化huán jìng环境lǐ里,“kāi mén jiàn shān开门见山”wǎng wǎng往往xū yào需要yì diǎn一点yǒng qì勇气,shèn zhì甚至xū yào需要yì diǎn一点zì xìn自信。

In a cultural environment that values subtlety and is used to reading between the lines, 开门见山 often requires a bit of courage and even a bit of confidence.

yīn wèi因为zhè这yì wèi zhe意味着nǐ你xiāng xìn相信duì fāng对方néng gòu能够jiē shòu接受zhēn xiàng真相,yě也xiāng xìn相信zhè这jiàn件shì事běn shēn本身zú gòu足够zhòng yào重要,bù不xū yào需要rèn hé任何zhuāng shì装饰。

Because it means you believe the other person can accept the truth and that the matter itself is important enough not to need any decoration.

bǐ rú比如,zài在jǐn jí紧急de的gōng zuò工作huì yì会议shàng上,bǐ qǐ比起wěi wǎn委婉de的àn shì暗示,yī jù一句“kāi mén jiàn shān开门见山”de的jié lùn结论,wǎng wǎng往往gèng更néng能jiě jué解决wèn tí问题;zài在biǎo dá表达zhēn shí真实qíng gǎn情感shí时,bǐ qǐ比起cāi lái cāi qù猜来猜去de的shì tàn试探,zhí jiē直接shuō chū说出xīn lǐ心里de的xiǎng fǎ想法,fǎn ér反而gèng更néng能dǎ dòng打动rén人。

For example, in an urgent work meeting, a 开门见山 conclusion is often more effective at solving problems than subtle hints; when expressing true feelings, saying what's on your mind directly is often more touching than testing the waters with guesswork.

dāng rán当然,bìng bú shì并不是suǒ yǒu所有shí hòu时候dōu都shì hé适合zhè yàng这样zuò做。

Of course, it is not suitable to do this all the time.

dàn但zhè ge这个chéng yǔ成语tí xǐng提醒wǒ men我们:suī rán虽然wān yán蜿蜒de的xiǎo lù小路yǒu有tā它de的fēng jǐng风景,dàn但zài在gōu tōng沟通zhōng中,zuì最yǒu xiào有效、zuì最yǒu有lì liàng力量de的fāng shì方式,wǎng wǎng往往zhǐ只xū yào需要zuò做yí gè一个dòng zuò动作——tuī kāi推开mén门,ràng让duì fāng对方zhí jiē直接kàn dào看到nà那zuò座“shān山”。

But this idiom reminds us: although winding paths have their own scenery, in communication, the most effective and powerful way often only requires one action—pushing open the door and letting the other person see that mountain directly.

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