How to Write 闼 (tà) — Meaning “Door; inner door”

Think of tapping on a door: you "tap" (sounds like tà) the 门 (door) to get someone to reach (达) it. Another way is to imagine the 达 part as a person approaching a 门, so 闼 is the door they reach.

First write the door radical 门 as an outer frame: dot, vertical, then horizontal hook. Inside, write 达 carefully — start with the large component 大 (horizontal, left-falling, right-falling), then add the walk radical 辶 (dot, horizontal zigzag, final wave). A common mistake is making the inner 达 too wide, so it extends outside the door frame.

All three have the 门 radical, but they differ by the inner component: 闰 has 王 (king) inside and means an intercalary month, 闱 has 韦 (leather) inside and means a palace side door, while 闼 has 达 (to reach) inside and means an inner door. Visually, remember 闼’s inner part looks like a person reaching a door.

闼 is very rare in everyday speech and appears mostly in classical literature or fixed phrases like 排闼 (pái tà), meaning "to push open a door and enter directly." It carries a literary or formal tone, often describing an abrupt or forceful entry in historical texts.

Common words containing 闼 include: 排闼 (pái tà) — to push open a door; 闼门 (tà mén) — Door; 直闼 (zhí tà) — enter directly (literary).