安全门 (ān quán mén) — safety door, emergency exit; fire door; security door (theft-proof)

Definition

A safety/fire door on a building (used during emergencies, as in the example "请走安全门"). It is the physical door, not an abstract security concept — and the theft-proof sense refers to a reinforced apartment entry door, not a 门 of a house.

noun
safety dooremergency exitfire doorsecurity door (theft-proof)
Measure word · 扇

Examples

  • 安全门。
    Fā shēng huǒ zāi shí qǐng zǒu ān quán mén.
    Please use the emergency exit in case of fire.
  • 安全门。
    Zhè dòng lóu měi céng dōu yǒu liǎng gè ān quán mén.
    This building has two safety doors on every floor.
  • 安全门。
    ān quán mén Páng biān yǒu miè huǒ qì.
    There is a fire extinguisher next to the fire door.

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.

安全safety
安ānsafe全quáncomplete
联合Side by side
门méndoor

安 and 全 combine to convey safety, and 门 is a door, giving a safety door or emergency exit.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ安ān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 安, 宀 sits above a seated 女 on a cushion; 宀 is the meaning part, 女 is the sound part, and the character originally meant sitting at ease.

Open 安 →

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

The shape puts 入 together with 玉 to show a whole piece of jade, so it means complete or whole.

Open 全 →

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 →

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