开垦 kāikěn to clear a wild area for cultivation
to clear a wild area for cultivation; to put under the plow
How to remember 开垦: 开 open + 垦 to cultivate = to clear a wild area for cultivation.
Characters
How it is used
- To reclaim/bring wild land under cultivation - 开垦荒地 (kāikěn huāngdì) to open up wasteland for farming.
- Agricultural term specifically for turning uncultivated land (wasteland, wilderness) into farmland.
- Contrast 开发 (kāifā), broad 'develop/exploit'; 开垦 is narrowly about plowing new ground.