闸 (zhá) · sluice gate, floodgate, brake

Measure Word

一道闸 dào

Meanings

1 sluice gate
2 floodgate
3 brake
4 switch

Characters

闸

zhá

sluice gate; brake

Examples

HSK 5

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.

HSK 7-9

打开水闸放水。

Dǎkāi shuǐ zhá fàngshuǐ.

Open the sluice gate to release water.

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.