关卡 (guān kǎ) — (noun) checkpoint; barrier (at border or customs); (noun) screening point; hurdle (e.g., in censorship or a process)

Definition

Literally 'pass/gate' (关) + 'card/checkpoint' (卡), used both for a physical barrier (customs, border) and a figurative hurdle to clear in a process.

noun
checkpointbarrier (at border or customs)screening pointhurdle (e.g., in censorship or a process)
Measure word · 道

Examples

  • 关卡。
    Hǎi guān de guān kǎ jiǎn chá dé hěn yán gé.
    The customs checkpoint inspects very strictly.
  • 关卡。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng tōng guò le shěn hé guān kǎ cái néng shàng yìng.
    This film can only be released after passing the censorship screening.
  • ，关卡。
    Zài chuàng yè guò chéng zhōng, zī jīn shì yí gè zhòng yào guān kǎ.
    In the process of starting a business, funding is an important hurdle.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

关guānpass
卡kǎcheckpoint

“关” and “卡” both suggest a controlled passage, together a checkpoint.

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 →

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

卡 is made from 上 (up) and 下 (down), with their horizontal lines fused, showing something squeezed between above and below.

Open 卡 →
Appears in
Roads & Traffic

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