阖 (hé): to close (a door)

Meanings

1 to close (a door)
2 door leaf
3 whole; entire

Characters

阖

hé

to close; whole

Examples

HSK 6

他阖上门，不再答问。

Tā hé shàng mén, bùzài dá wèn.

He closed the door and answered no more questions.

HSK 7-9

阖家团聚，共进晚餐。

Héjiā tuánjù, gòng jìn wǎncān.

The whole family gathered for the reunion dinner.

Tips

usage

Most common today in the set greeting 阖家 / 阖府 ('your whole family / household'), used on cards and invitations. The literal 'close the door' sense is literary; everyday Chinese uses 关.

Components

radical

门 mén

door; gate

The outer 门 is the gate radical, framing this as a door word - both 'door leaf' and 'to shut'. Traditional 闔 uses the fuller gate 門.

phonetic

盍 hé

to cover; sound element

Inside the gate sits 盍 ('to cover over'), giving both the sound hé and a hint of meaning - a door covers an opening when shut.

Stroke Order

阖 hé

Related Words

纵横捭阖 zònghéng-bǎihé

political maneuvering and alliance-building / to operate skillfully in politics or diplomacy / to deploy shifting strategies

合 hé HSK 3 #1,830

to close; to shut / to join; to combine; to merge / to fit; to suit; to agree with / to be equal to; to add up to / whole; entire; together / round (of a contest or battle)

关上 guānshàng HSK 1 #3,076

to close (a door, window) / to turn off

关门 guānmén #2,714

to close the door / to shut down / to go out of business

关闭 guānbì HSK 4 #2,087

to close; to shut / to shut down; to close down

接近 jiējìn HSK 3 #1,353

to approach; to get close to / close to; nearly

浑 hún #7,725

muddy; turbid / foolish; muddleheaded / whole; entire (literary)

毕 bì #6,537

to finish; to complete / whole; entire; fully

车门 chēmén #7,474

car door / vehicle door

后门 hòumén #4,259

back door / backdoor (connections; under-the-table dealings)