闸 (zhá): sluice gate

Measure Word

一道闸 dào

Meanings

1 sluice gate
2 floodgate
3 brake
4 switch

Characters

闸

zhá

sluice gate; brake

Examples

打开水闸放水。

Dǎkāi shuǐ zhá fàngshuǐ.

Open the sluice gate to release water.

紧急情况下要拉闸断电。

Jǐnjí qíngkuàng xià yào lā zhá duàndiàn.

In an emergency, pull the switch to cut the power.

Tips

memory

The character 闸 has 门 (door) on the outside — a gate that controls flow. Think of a door that holds back water or electricity.

Components

radical

门 mén

door; gate (radical form of 門)

Outer indexing gate radical 门 (Kangxi #169) — simplified from 門, originally a pair of swinging double-doors. Frames the character from above and the sides. Anchors 闸 in the gate family: 间 (between), 闭 (close), 开 (open), 闯 (rush through), 阀 (valve). A 闸 is a gate that controls flow — most often a sluice gate for water.

phonetic

甲 jiǎ

armour; first heavenly stem (here phonetic)

Inner 甲 supplies the sound — jiǎ shifted to zhá, a notable Old Chinese drift. 甲 originally pictured a turtle shell or armour plate; the 'plate' meaning lingers faintly here, since a sluice gate is a heavy plate dropping into a slot. Same phonetic in 押 (escort), 鸭 (duck). Modern 车闸 'brake' extends to clamping plates.