关 guān — (surname); mountain pass; to close; to shut; to turn off; to concern
请关上电视。Qǐng guān shàng diàn shì.Please turn off the TV.
Common words: 没关系 (méi guān xi)、关上 (guān shàng)、关心 (guān xīn)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to close"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to close", including 关 (guān), 闭 (bì). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to close" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 关 (guān), 闭 (bì) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span guān, bì — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 关 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 关 guān(surname); mountain pass; to close; to shut; to turn off; to concernUseful words: 没关系, 关上
- 闭 bìto close; stop up; shut; obstructUseful words: 关闭, 封闭
Common words for these 2 "to close" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 关 (guān) — so "to close" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
没关系méi guān xiit doesn't matter关上guān shàngto close (a door); to turn off (light, electrical equipment etc)关心guān xīnto be concerned about; to care about关闭guān bìto close; to shut (a window etc); (of a shop, school etc) to shut down封闭fēng bìto close; to seal off; to close down (an illegal venue); closed (i.e. isolated from outside input)倒闭dǎo bìto go bankrupt; to close down
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "to close".
闭 bì — to close; stop up; shut; obstruct
做深呼吸的时候，请闭上眼睛。Zuò shēn hū xī de shí hou, qǐng bì shàng yǎn jing.When taking a deep breath, please close your eyes.
Common words: 关闭 (guān bì)、封闭 (fēng bì)、倒闭 (dǎo bì)
All 2 characters
Open 关、闭 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.