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关张 (guān zhāng) — to close down (a business), to go out of business

Definition

关张 is a formal, somewhat literary verb meaning 'to close down a business for good.' Stronger and more final than the everyday 关门, which can mean simply shutting up shop for the day.

verb
to close down (a business)to go out of business

Examples

  • 关张。
    Nà jiā fàn diàn qù nián jiù guān zhāng le.
    That restaurant closed down last year.
  • ，关张。
    Yóu yú jīng yíng bú shàn, zhè jiā gōng sī bù dé bù guān zhāng.
    Due to poor management, this company had to close down.
  • 关张。
    Hěn duō xiǎo shāng diàn zài yì qíng qī jiān guān zhāng le.
    Many small shops closed down during the pandemic.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

关guānclose
张zhāngopen

关 supplies the meaning of closing; 张 only echoes an opposite, so the word denotes shutting down.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 關; 关 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
門門méndoor
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢇅
𢇅𢇅關guān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 关, the traditional form 關 shows 門 as a door and 𢇅 as two wooden sticks locking it, with ring-like marks on top.

Open 关 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 張; 张 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
弓弓gōngbow
Sound part声符shēngfú
長
長cháng張zhāng
Same sound today

The traditional form 張 combines 弓, a bow, with 長, which points to the sound; the simplified 张 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 张 →
Appears in
Business & Commerce

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