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机关 (jī guān) — mechanism; gear (inside a machine); office; agency; institution (especially government); stratagem; trick; scheme

Definition

机关 covers three distinct senses: 'mechanism' (inside a machine), 'government office/agency' (more institutional than 机构, which is broader), and 'stratagem/scheme' (more political/calculated than 计策, which leans military or tactical).

mechanismgear (inside a machine)officeagencyinstitution (especially government)stratagemtrickscheme
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 机关。
    Zhè ge jī qì de jī guān hěn fù zá.
    The mechanism of this machine is very complex.
  • 机关。
    Tā zài zhèng fǔ jī guān gōng zuò le hěn duō nián.
    He worked in a government agency for many years.
  • 机关。
    Tā shè le yí gè jī guān lái piàn rén.
    She set up a scheme to cheat people.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

机jīmachine
关guānkey

'机' (machine) and '关' (key) together name a crucial part of a machine or an agency.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree; wood
Sound part声符shēngfú
几
几jǐ机jī
Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.

Open 机 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Government & PoliticsMiscellaneous Objects

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