Chinese word

关

Pronunciation

Pinyinguān

Meaning

  • verbclose

Example

请关门。qǐng guān mén

Please close the door.

Illustration for 关 (close)

More examples

请把灯关掉。qǐng bǎ dēng guān diào

Please turn off the light.

Core concept

Something is brought behind a closed gate: a door shuts, a device goes quiet, or a subject is linked to a matter.

Common phrases

  • 关门guān mén

    close the door

  • 关灯guān dēng

    turn off the light

Similar words

关闭guān bì: Turning off a power supply or function makes it stop working.
关上guān shàng: Shutting a door or lid leaves it fully closed.
关掉guān diào: Switching off a light, appliance, or machine makes it stop running.
关机guān jī: Shutting down an electronic device stops it from operating.

Definition in Chinese

使门、窗或其他开口合上以阻止人或物通过，也用于把电器或灯关闭使其不工作。shǐ mén chuāng huò qí tā kāi kǒu hé shàng yǐ zú zhǐ rén huò wù tōng guò yě yòng yú bǎ diàn qì huò dēng guān bì shǐ qí bù gōng zuò

Word origin

关 (guān, "close") is the simplified form of an older character linked to closing a gate or pass, and this physical idea extended to stopping devices and referring to matters connected with a topic.

Usage tips

  • English uses different verbs for a door, a light, and a machine, but Chinese can use one short verb with each object, making the object especially important for understanding the sentence.

Other meanings

  • turn offverb
  • relate toverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word