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馆

館
guǎn
noun #6,024

Meanings

  1. 1 building; hall; establishment
  2. 2 shop; restaurant
  3. 3 embassy; consulate

Examples

图书馆在那边。
Túshūguǎn zài nàbiān.
The library is over there.
博物馆几点关门？
Bówùguǎn jǐ diǎn guānmén?
What time does the museum close?
我们去饭馆吃饭吧。
Wǒmen qù fànguǎn chīfàn ba.
Let's go eat at a restaurant.

Tips

usage
馆 is a suffix for buildings/venues: 图书馆 (library), 博物馆 (museum), 体育馆 (gymnasium), 大使馆 (embassy), 宾馆 (hotel), 饭馆 (restaurant), 咖啡馆 (cafe).

Components

radical
饣 shí
food; eating (left-side form of 食)
Left food radical — the indexing component. 馆 originally meant a guesthouse where travelers could eat and lodge, hence the food marker. Even today 饭馆 (restaurant) and 茶馆 (teahouse) keep the eating association alive. Same radical anchors 饭 (rice/meal), 饮 (drink), 饿 (hungry).
phonetic
官 guān
official; government
Right 官 supplies the sound (guān → guǎn, only tone differs) and a faint flavor of officially-run establishment — a public hall or institution. Phonetic family: 棺 (coffin), 管 (tube/manage) — all keeping the guān reading.

Stroke Order

馆 guǎn