BeginChinese
every character tells a story
The ancient form
Today

mén · mun4

door; gate

Where it comes from

Two swinging door-leaves on their posts — a saloon door, three thousand years early. The traditional form 門 still shows every plank; the simplified 门 kept just the frame. Walk through it in your mind: in Chinese, fields of study, family lines, and ways of kung fu are all called "gates" — knowledge is something you enter.

A piece of culture

The Gate of Heavenly Peace
The most famous gate on earth stands in Beijing, and you can read most of its name: 天安门, Tian'anmen — "Gate of Heavenly Peace". For five centuries it was the front door of the Forbidden City, through which only the emperor could pass on the central axis. Behind it lie gate after gate — Meridian Gate, Gate of Supreme Harmony — because Chinese palaces are journeys inward: each 门 you pass brings you closer to the center of the world.

Use it in a real word

大门
dàmén ·
main gate; front door — the "big door" of a house or palace
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