How to Write 阍 (hūn) — Meaning “gatekeeper; to guard a gate”

Imagine a sleepy gatekeeper who guards the gate (门) at dusk (昏). He is so tired that he keeps yawning, which sounds like "hūn." This picture links the meaning and sound together.

First write the outer 门 with three strokes: dot, vertical, horizontal hook. Then write the inner 昏: start with 氏 (short left-falling stroke, vertical lift, dot, horizontal), then add 日 (vertical, horizontal fold, horizontal). Keep the inner part centered and not too big.

All three use the 门 radical, but their inner parts differ: 阍 has 昏 (gatekeeper), 闺 has 圭 (jade; meaning lady's room), and 闻 has 耳 (ear; meaning to hear). Visually, 阍’s inside looks like "氏 + 日," while 闺 looks like two stacked "土" and 闻 has an obvious ear shape.

阍 is a very rare character now, mostly found in classical literature. It appears in words like 阍人 (gatekeeper) and 阍侍 (gate attendant), but you will not see it in everyday conversation. It is culturally interesting because it describes an ancient servant role.

Common words containing 阍 include: 阍人 (hūn rén) — gatekeeper; 阍侍 (hūn shì) — gatekeeper; attendant; 晨阍 (chén hūn) — Morning gatekeeper.