abrir

To open — one of the most common verbs in Spanish, used for doors, businesses, meetings, minds, and more. Highly irregular in one key spot: its past participle is abierto, not the expected regular abrido.

• Abre la ventana, por favor. — Open the window, please.
• La tienda abre a las nueve de la mañana. — The store opens at nine in the morning.
• Han abierto una nueva sucursal en el centro. — They've opened a new branch downtown.

The past participle is abierto, never abrido — "he abrido" is a very common learner error; the correct form is "he abierto".

• expression ¡Ábrete, sésamo! — The Spanish translation of 'Open Sesame,' the magic command that opens the treasure cave in 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves' from One Thousand and One Nights — used today as a stock phrase for anything that magically unlocks access.