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关门 (guān mén) — to close a door (literal); (of a business) to close down, to shut down; (figurative) to slam the door on something, to refuse to discuss

Definition

Used both literally ('close the door') and for businesses shutting down permanently. The figurative sense — 'slam the door on' cooperation or negotiation — usually appears with 大门 as 关上…的大门.

verb
to close a door (literal)(of a business) to close downto shut down(figurative) to slam the door on somethingto refuse to discuss

Examples

  • 。
    Tā jìn le fáng jiān jiù guān le mén.
    He entered the room and closed the door.
  • 关门。
    Nà jiā diàn qù nián guān mén le.
    That store closed down last year.
  • 关门。
    Tā zhí jiē guān mén le hé zuò de dà mén.
    He directly slammed the door on cooperation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

关guānclose
门méndoor

关 means to close, and 门 means door, so together they mean closing a door.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

Open 门 →
Appears in
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