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后门 (hòu mén) — back door (of a building); underhand influence; pull; backdoor connections

Definition

Literally 'back door' — the building's back entrance, and by extension, using connections to get unfair advantage. Walk through 走后门 means to pull strings, not to literally use a rear door.

noun
back door (of a building)underhand influencepullbackdoor connections
Measure word · 扇

Examples

  • 后门。
    Zhè ge shāng diàn de hòu mén zài yòu biān.
    This store's back door is on the right.
  • 后门。
    Tā shì kào hòu mén cái jìn de nà jiā gōng sī.
    He only got into that company through backdoor connections.
  • 。
    Hěn duō shì zǒu hòu mén fǎn ér gèng má fan.
    Going through the back door actually makes many things more troublesome.

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.

后hòuback
门méndoor

后门 combines 后 'back' and 门 'door', extended to underhand connections.

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 後; 后 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 後 showed 夊 (foot) bound by 幺 (thread), a foot caught by a rope and lagging behind; the simplified 后 is a later abbreviation, and 后 also has a different meaning.

Open 后 →

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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