看门 (kān mén) — to guard a door, to look after the house (as a…

Definition

看门 (kān mén) means to guard a door or look after a house, usually as a doorkeeper or watchman — typically a job, not a temporary action.

verb

to guard a doorto look after the house (as a doorkeeper or watchman)

看门。
Tā shì zhuān mén kān mén de.
He is a professional doorkeeper.
。
Tā kàn le yì tiān de mén.
He looked after the house for a whole day.
看门。
Gōng sī qǐng le yí gè rén kān mén.
The company hired someone to guard the door.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

看 denotes guarding and 门 the door, so the action is to guard the door.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 看 puts 手 (hand) over 目 (eye), showing a hand placed above the eyes to gaze into the distance.

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.

Appears in