How to Write 关 (guān) — Meaning “To close; to turn off; relation”

Think of the two dots as two eyes looking up at the sky (天). When you close your eyes, you shut out the sky – that action is 关. This visual helps link the character to its meaning of 'to close'.

Write the top two dots first, separate and small, then the horizontal lines and the left-falling and right-falling strokes of 天. A common mistake is making the top dots too large or connecting them, so keep them as two distinct marks. The second horizontal stroke should be slightly longer to balance the character.

关 has a bottom part like 天 (sky) with two diagonal strokes, while 兰 has three horizontal strokes at the bottom, and 兴 has a bottom resembling 八 (eight) with a vertical line. Focus on the bottom shape: 天 (two horizontals + two diagonals) vs. 三 horizontals vs. a 'V' shape.

关 is very common in daily life, such as in 关门 (closing a door or business), 关系 (relationship), and 关心 (to care about someone). Culturally, 关心 is a key term for expressing warmth and concern, while 关门 can also mean a shop is permanently closed.

Common words containing 关 include: 关门 (guān mén) — To close the door; to close down (a business); 关系 (guān xì) — Relationship; relation; 关心 (guān xīn) — To care about; concerned.