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关子 (guān zǐ) — climax (in a story); the crucial point (often in the phrase 卖关子 'to keep in suspense')

Definition

Usually appears in the set phrase 卖关子 ('to keep someone in suspense'). By itself, 关子 names the suspenseful moment in a story — the 'climax' or crucial reveal just before the answer.

noun
climax (in a story)the crucial point (often in the phrase 卖关子 'to keep in suspense')

Examples

  • 关子，。
    Tā zǒng ài mài guān zǐ, ràng rén zháo jí.
    He always likes to keep people in suspense, making them anxious.
  • 关子，。
    Gù shi dào le zuì guān jiàn de guān zǐ, tā què tíng le xià lái.
    The story reached the most critical climax, but he stopped.
  • 关子，！
    Bié mài guān zǐ le, kuài gào sù wǒ men jié guǒ ba!
    Don't keep us in suspense—tell us the result quickly!

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

关guāncrucial point
子zǐending

关 points to the crucial point, and 子 is a familiar ending.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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