口岸

kǒu'àn
noun HSK 7-9 #46,893

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 port of entry
  2. 2 trading port
  3. 3 border crossing point

Characters

A mouth in the shoreline: the opening in a coast or border through which goods and people are let through.

Examples

HSK 4
Zhège kǒu'àn měitiān yǒu shàngwàn rén tōngguān.
This crossing clears more than ten thousand travellers a day.
HSK 7-9
Mǎnzhōulǐ shì Zhōngguó zuì dà de lùlù kǒu'àn zhīyī.
Manzhouli is one of the largest land ports of entry in China.
HSK 7-9
Shēnzhèn yǒu hǎojǐ gè kǒu'àn tōngwǎng Xiānggǎng.
Shenzhen has several crossings leading into Hong Kong.

Tips

usage
An officially designated crossing point where customs and immigration operate, whether by sea, land or air. A working harbour without that status is a 港口, and the checkpoint you physically queue at is the 关口.
mistakes
The pinyin takes an apostrophe, kǒu'àn, because the second syllable begins with a vowel and the mark shows where the break falls. It is the same rule that gives 西安 and 天安门. Dropping it is the usual slip.

Stroke Order

kǒu
àn