闸

• Pinyin: zhá
• Hanzi breakdown: 闸 = 门 (gate) + 甲 (armor/shell) — a controlled gate

Meaning

Sluice gate; floodgate; brake. A device for controlling water flow or stopping motion.

Used for water control structures (水闸, sluice), electrical switches (电闸, circuit breaker), and brakes (刹车闸). Common in infrastructure and engineering contexts. Metaphorically: 开闸泄洪 (open floodgates).

Examples

1. 水库管理员按时打开闸门，调节下游的水量。 The reservoir manager opens the sluice gates on schedule to regulate the amount of water downstream.
2. 暴风雨来临前，所有的防洪闸都已检查完毕并关闭。 Before the storm arrived, all flood-control gates had been inspected and closed.
3. 自行车的闸失灵了，骑行时必须特别小心。 The bike’s brakes have failed, so you have to be especially careful when riding.

Usage Guide

Context: engineering, infrastructure, vehicles

Tone: technical

Do Say

• 工程师下令开闸放水，缓解上游水库的压力。(The engineer ordered the sluice gate opened to release water and relieve pressure on the upstream reservoir.)
• 暴雨导致电闸跳闸，整栋楼陷入黑暗。(The heavy rain caused the circuit breaker to trip, plunging the entire building into darkness.)

Don't Say

• 闸一下 as a verb for braking — use 刹车 or 刹一下 for the action of braking

Origin & History

Radical 门 (gate) + 甲 (armor/shell) — a gate that can be closed

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal