ichidan verb, intransitive verb
open out; spread out; become clear
Used when a view, scenery, field of vision, or route opens up so that what is ahead becomes wide, visible, or unobstructed.
山頂に出ると、急に視界が開けた。
When we reached the summit, the view suddenly opened up.
森
After we came out of the forest, the sea spread out before us.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
improve; look brighter; open up
Used figuratively of luck, prospects, a future path, or a difficult situation beginning to improve.
事業は失敗続きだったが、ようやく運が開けてきた。
The business had suffered one failure after another, but his luck has finally begun to turn.
新しい仕事を得て、将来が開けた。
Getting a new job opened up his future prospects.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
Used of towns, regions, civilizations, knowledge, or ideas developing from a less advanced or less connected state.
港ができてから、この町は大きく開けた。
After the port was built, this town developed greatly.
教育が広まり、人々の考え方も少しずつ開けていった。
As education spread, people's way of thinking gradually became more advanced.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
be sensible; be understanding; be enlightened
Often appears as 開けた人 or 開けた考え方, meaning open-minded, enlightened, or not bound by narrow old assumptions.
彼女は新しい考えにも理解のある、開けた人だ。
She is an open-minded person who understands new ideas.
祖父は年配だが、考え方はとても開けている。
My grandfather is elderly, but his way of thinking is very enlightened.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
open to traffic; become accessible
Used of a new road, railway, or route becoming usable. In modern everyday Japanese, 開通する is often the more explicit choice for official opening to traffic.
この地方に初めて鉄道が開けたのは明治時代だ。
It was in the Meiji era that a railway first opened in this region.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
become built-up; become populous; become bustling
Used of an area becoming more inhabited, built up, commercially active, or lively.
この辺りも店やマンションが増えて、すっかり開けた。
This area has become completely built up, with more shops and apartment buildings.
昔は畑ばかりだったが、駅前はずいぶん開けた。
It used to be nothing but fields, but the area in front of the station has become much more bustling.