How to Write 阀 (fá) — Meaning “Valve; powerful family or clique”

Imagine a gate (门) that can cut off (伐) the flow of water — that is exactly what a valve does. Or think of a powerful family (阀) who guards their gate (门) like a warlord (军阀) cutting off enemies.

Start by writing the radical 门: dot, vertical, horizontal fold hook. Then add 伐: first the left component 亻 (left stroke, vertical stroke), then 戈 (horizontal, slant, hook, slant, dot). A common mistake is making the 门 too narrow or forgetting the hook at the bottom of 门.

阀 (fá) has 伐 inside, meaning valve or powerful group. 闰 (rùn) has 王 inside and means intercalary (extra month in a lunar calendar). 闱 (wéi) has 韦 inside and refers to the side gate of a palace or examination hall. Visually, the inner component is the key difference: 伐 vs 王 vs 韦.

Today 阀 is common in two areas: technology/mechanics as 阀门 (valve) and society as 财阀 (financial tycoon) or 军阀 (warlord). The term 军阀 comes from early 20th-century China, when local military leaders controlled regions. 财阀 describes powerful business families that dominate an industry, similar to the term "oligarch."

Common words containing 阀 include: 阀门 (fá mén) — Valve; 财阀 (cái fá) — financial tycoon; plutocrat; 军阀 (jūn fá) — Warlord.