關

简 关 · 繁 關
Mandarin · pinyin guān#

Meanings · guān

  1. mountain pass
  2. to close; to shut; to turn off
  3. to confine; to lock (sb) up; to shut (sb in a room, a bird in a cage etc)
  4. to concern; to involve
Mandarin · pinyin Guān#

Meanings · Guān

  1. surname Guan
Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

關
Look up this written character
关
guān · frontier pass; close; relation
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1 · guan1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link22same-tone records
Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Sentences in context

Explore 2 examples using 关 ↗

Exact source-spelling matches. Open the reader for dictionary lookups, construction notes and related examples. Occurrence does not establish a particular dictionary sense.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

關 · find source passages ↗ · 关 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 16 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gwaan1

Cantonese word readings for 關. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

  1. door bolt
  2. to close; to shut
  3. to close down (a business)
  4. to lock up; to detain
  5. to turn off; to switch off
  6. (literary) to go through; to pass
  7. to concern; to implicate; to relate to
  8. frontier pass; border control; checkpoint (controlled passage)
  9. frontier pass; border control; checkpoint (controlled passage) — (specifically) Shanhai Pass
  10. area just outside a city gate
  11. difficult time; critical juncture
  12. key; crucial part
  13. (video games) level
  14. (traditional Chinese medicine) short for 關上/关上 (guānshàng, “guan, a pulse position on the wrist”)
  15. (dated) to issue or receive payment
  16. a surname

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

關 · guan1 · Guan1
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source lines 114,161, 114,160
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source records關 关 [guan1] /mountain pass/to close; to shut; to turn off/to confine; to lock (sb) up; to shut (sb in a room, a bird in a cage etc)/to concern; to involve/關 关 [Guan1] /surname Guan/