Chinese word

敲门

Pronunciation

Pinyinqiāo mén

Meaning

  • verbknock on the door

Example

夜里有人轻轻敲门。yè lǐ yǒu rén qīng qīng qiāo mén

Someone gently knocked on the door at night.

Illustration for 敲门 (knock on the door)

More examples

孩子在门外急忙地敲门。hái zi zài mén wài jí máng dì qiāo mén

The child hurriedly knocked on the door from outside.

Core concept

A small strike on a door acts as a signal from outside to people inside.

Common phrases

  • 敲门声qiāo mén shēng

    sound of knocking

  • 轻轻敲门qīng qīng qiāo mén

    gently knock on the door

  • 敲门的人qiāo mén de rén

    person knocking on the door

Similar words

按门铃àn mén líng: Pressing a doorbell to let people inside know someone has arrived.
敲打qiāo dǎ: Striking a door firmly to make a sound that alerts people inside.
拍门pāi mén: Lightly patting a door with a hand to let people inside know someone is outside.

Definition in Chinese

以手或物敲击门，以引起屋内注意或表示要进入的行为。yǐ shǒu huò wù qiāo jī mén yǐ yín qǐ wū nèi zhù yì huò biǎo shì yào jìn rù de xíng wéi

Word origin

敲 (qiāo, "strike or tap") + 门 (mén, "door") names the action of striking a door to get attention or seek entry.

Usage tips

  • English usually adds the preposition "on" after "knock", whereas Chinese joins the action and its object in one compact word, so English prepositions do not transfer automatically.

Other meanings

  • tapverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 敲打qiāo dǎknockverb
  • 敲击qiāo jīstrikeverb

Word lists with this word