关 meaning in English
mountain pass; to close; to shut; to turn off
Meaning of 关
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- mountain pass
- to close; to shut; to turn off
- to confine; to lock (sb) up; to shut (sb in a room, a bird in a cage etc)
- to concern; to involve
- surname Guan
How to use 关
关 is most often a verb meaning to close or turn off, used for doors, windows, lights and devices, often as 关上 (guānshang). It also appears in many words about connection and concern, such as 关系 (guānxì) and 关心 (guānxīn). Example: 请关灯。(Qǐng guān dēng.) Please turn off the light.
Picture 关 (guān) as a gate seen from the front: the two dots on top are latches, the crossbars are the bolts, and the legs at the bottom are the gate posts. When the gate is bolted, it is closed, and a gate in the mountains is a pass.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 关 (guān) with 美 (měi, beautiful) or 送 (sòng, to send), which share similar top strokes. Also remember that 没关系 (méi guānxi) is said with a neutral tone on 系, not a full xì.
关 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
关 guān · mountain pass · 6 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 关.
| 没关系 | méi guānxi | it doesn't matter |
| 关上 | guānshang | to close (a door); to turn off (light, electrical equipment etc) |
| 关心 | guānxīn | to be concerned about; to care about |
| 关机 | guānjī | to turn off (a machine or device); to finish shooting a film |
| 关系 | guānxì | relation; relationship; connection; to concern; to involve; to affect |
| 关注 | guānzhù | to pay attention to; to follow sth closely; to follow (on social media); concern; interest |
| 相关 | xiāngguān | related; relevant |
| 海关 | hǎiguān | customs (i.e. border crossing inspection) |
| 关于 | guānyú | pertaining to; concerning |
| 关闭 | guānbì | to close; to shut (a window etc); (of a shop, school etc) to shut down |
| 关键 | guānjiàn | crucial point; crux |
| 关怀 | guānhuái | care; solicitude |
Questions about 关
What does 关 mean?
关 (guān) means "mountain pass; to close; to shut; to turn off" and is used as a verb and noun.
How do you write 关?
关 is made of 1 character: 关 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.
Is 关 an HSK word?
Yes. 关 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 关 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 关 is written 關.
How do I say to turn on, the opposite of 关?
Use 开 (kāi). For example, 开灯 (kāi dēng) is to turn on the light and 关灯 (guān dēng) is to turn it off. The pair 开关 (kāiguān) means a switch.
Can 关 mean a person is locked up?
Yes. 关 can mean to shut someone or something in, as in 把鸟关在笼子里 (bǎ niǎo guān zài lóngzi lǐ), to keep the bird in a cage. It is also used for putting someone in jail.