闭馆 (bì guǎn) — (of a library, museum, etc.) to be closed

Definition

verb

(of a library, museum, etc.) to be closed

Examples

闭馆。
Tú shū guǎn měi tiān xià wǔ liù diǎn bì guǎn.
The library closes at 6pm every day.
闭馆。
Cóng xià zhōu yī bó wù guǎn jiāng bì guǎn sān tiān.
From next Monday, the museum will be closed for three days.
，闭馆。
Yīn wèi zhuāng xiū, měi shù guǎn zàn shí bì guǎn.
Due to renovation, the art museum is temporarily closed.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

闭bìclose

馆guǎnhall

闭 means to close and 馆 is a hall or museum, so the phrase says the institution closes.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 閉; 闭 is its simplified writing.

門門méndoor
材材cáimaterial; timber

The traditional form 閉 pairs 門 (door) with 材 (material; timber); the simplified 闭 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical component.

Open 闭 →

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 館; 馆 is its simplified writing.

飠官館

Meaning part形符xíngfú

飠Written in full as食shí

Sound part声符shēngfú

官

官guān館guǎn

Same sound today

The traditional form 館 is made of 食, written as 飠 on the left, and 官 on the right; 官 provides the sound. The simplified 馆 is a later shorthand.

Open 馆 →