How to Write 闸 (zhá) — Meaning “Sluice; gate; brake”

Imagine a gate (门) that looks like a large 'A' shape (like 甲) — this gate can stop water or electricity. Think of it as the 'first (甲) gate (门)' you check when controlling a flow.

Write the radical 门 first as a frame, then insert 甲 inside. A common mistake is making the inner 甲 too wide — keep it narrow so both sides of 门 are balanced. The vertical stroke of 甲 should not extend beyond the top of 门.

闸 has 甲 inside meaning a sluice or brake, while 闫 is a surname character with 三 inside (three lines). 闭 has 才 inside and means 'close' or 'shut'. Remember: 闸 controls flow, 闭 closes, and 闫 is just a name.

闸 is common in technical and daily contexts: 水闸 (water sluice), 电闸 (circuit breaker/switch), and 闸门 (floodgate). In China, you often hear 拉电闸 (pull the electric switch) or 打开水闸 (open the sluice gate). It is not in HSK but useful for engineering or home maintenance.

Common words containing 闸 include: 水闸 (shuǐ zhá) — Sluice gate; 电闸 (diàn zhá) — Circuit breaker; 闸门 (zhá mén) — Sluice gate; floodgate.