关關 guān — to close, to shut; to turn off; to concern, to involve; a pass, a barrier, a customs post

guān

Traditional: 關

to close, to shut; to turn off; to concern, to involve; a pass, a barrier, a customs post

6 strokesRadical 八Frequency #131

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Pinyin

guān (first tone, high and level)

to close, to shut; to turn off; to concern, to involve; a pass, a barrier, a customs post

Character breakdown

Ideographic description

⿱丷天The sequence reads left to right and describes how the parts are arranged.

丷shape partno entry yetTwo short strokes standing in for the twisted cord and crossbar that fastened the traditional gate 關.
天shape partNot the word "sky". These four strokes are the rest of the fastening, redrawn as a familiar shape when the gate 門 was removed.

Mnemonic

The traditional 關 shows a gate 門 with the bar and the cord that lock it. Simplification kept only the fastening and threw the gate away, which is why the modern six strokes look like a sky under two dots and why the character is left unfiled here. Everyday: 关门, 关上, 关灯 — and 关系, a relationship, literally what ties two parties together.

A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.

关/關 guān — to close, to shut; to turn off; to concern, to involve; a pass, a barrier, a customs post

Pinyin

Character breakdown

Mnemonic

Words containing 关

关關 guān — to close, to shut; to turn off; to concern, to involve; a pass, a barrier, a customs post