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

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.

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.

Tips

usage

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