The Chinese word 拆开 (chāi kāi) is a **verb-object compound** formed by combining two individual characters, each with its own meaning, to create a new, specific action. The first character, 拆 (chāi), means "to dismantle," "to take apart," or "to tear down," indicating the core action. The second character, 开 (kāi), means "to open" or "to separate," describing the intended result or state of that action. Therefore, 拆开 literally means "to take apart and open up," or more naturally, "to dismantle," "to disassemble," or "to unwrap," where 拆 performs the action that causes something to become 开.