阁 (gé): pavilion (usually two-storied)

Meanings

1 pavilion (usually two-storied)
2 cabinet (in politics)
3 chamber; boudoir
4 shelf; rack

Characters

阁

gé

pavilion; cabinet; shelf

Examples

HSK 6

内阁成员今天开会讨论了新政策。

Nèigé chéngyuán jīntiān kāihuì tǎolùn le xīn zhèngcè.

Cabinet members met today to discuss new policies.

HSK 7-9

滕王阁是中国四大名楼之一。

Téng wáng gé shì Zhōngguó sìdà míng lóu zhīyī.

The Pavilion of Prince Teng is one of the four famous towers of China.

Tips

usage

As architecture, 阁 refers to a traditional multi-story pavilion. In politics, 内阁 means 'cabinet' (government). 阁楼 means attic or loft.

culture

Many famous Chinese landmarks contain 阁: 滕王阁 (Tengwang Pavilion), 蓬莱阁 (Penglai Pavilion). These were important cultural gathering places for scholars and poets.

Components

radical

门 mén

gate; door

门 is the simplified gate radical, a wide doorway with two flapping leaves. It is the indexing radical and visually wraps the inside character. Marks 阁 as a building-of-the-gate-family: 阁 originally meant a side-gate pavilion, then by extension a tower or chamber (阁楼, 内阁).

phonetic

各 gè

each; every

各 (gè) supplies the sound - initial preserved, tone shifted from fourth to second (gé). Same phonetic drives 格 (frame), 客 (guest), 络 (network), 铬 (chromium). Inside the door-frame, 各 is purely a sound-marker that distinguishes 阁 from sibling 门-radical chars.