闭 (bì): to close
闭 (bì) is a Chinese character meaning “to close.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 门 (structural) and 才 (structural). It ranks #1259 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 闭 a door 门 blocked by bars 才. Its radical form 门 (gate) appears in many related characters such as 门 (mén, door, gate), 间 (jiān, room, between), 闪 (shǎn, to flash, to dodge).
Definitions
- to close
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA door 门 blocked by bars 才
Decomposition: ⿵门才 (layout: surround-from-top)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 闭 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 闭
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 关闭verb | guān bì | to close | 5 |
| 封闭verb | fēng bì | to close | 6 |
| 倒闭verb | dǎo bì | to go bankrupt | 6 |
| 闭幕式noun | bì mù shì | closing ceremony | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 关禁闭 | guān jìn bì | to put in detention (a soldier, a pupil) |
| 闭路电视 | bì lù diàn shì | closed-circuit television |
| 闭合 | bì hé | to close by coming together (like the lips of a wound, the doors of an elevator, the walls of a channel) |
| 密闭 | mì bì | sealed |
| 闭关 | bì guān | to close the passes |
| 闭塞 | bì sè | to stop up |
| 闭门羹 | bì mén gēng | (fig.) denial of entry |
| 闭幕 | bì mù | the curtain falls |
| 闭馆 | bì guǎn | (of libraries, museums etc) to be closed |
| 闭会 | bì huì | close a meeting |
| 夜不闭户 | yè bù bì hù | lit. doors not locked at night (idiom) |
| 吃闭门羹 | chī bì mén gēng | to be refused entrance |
| 闭门思过 | bì mén sī guò | shut oneself up and ponder over one's mistakes |
| 闭关自守 | bì guān zì shǒu | close the country to international intercourse |
| 闭关锁国 | bì guān suǒ guó | to close the passes and seal off the country |
闭 appears in 74 compound words: 62 as the first character, 14 as the last, and 24 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 闭 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (13)
to close off the country to the outside world and conduct no trade or exchanges with other countries
to refuse to say anything about (idiom); to remain tight-lipped; to avoid mentioning
lit. lock the door and search for the right word (idiom); fig. the serious hard work of writing
do something irrespective of external circumstances; to operate in a vacuum
to close off the country to the outside world and conduct no trade or exchanges with other countries
to refuse to say anything about (idiom); to remain tight-lipped; to avoid mentioning
do something irrespective of external circumstances; to operate in a vacuum
Showing 12 of 13 idioms containing 闭.
Example Sentences
商店已经闭门了，明天再来吧。
Shāngdiàn yǐjīng bì mén le, míngtiān zài lái ba.
The store is closed; come back tomorrow.
俄罗斯运动员亮相米兰-科尔蒂纳冬奥会闭幕式运动员入场仪式
é luó sī yùn dòng yuán liàng xiāng mǐ lán kē ěr dì nà dōng ào huì bì mù shì yùn dòng yuán rù chǎng yí shì
Russian Athletes Make Appearance at Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony Parade of Athletes
...之暗面成国内最快晋级十角兽公司;曝腾讯关闭天美蒙特利尔工作室...
. . . zhī àn miàn chéng guó nèi zuì kuài jìn jí shí jiǎo shòu gōng sī pù téng xùn guān bì tiān měi méng tè lì ěr gōng zuò shì . . .
...emerged as China's fastest-growing unicorn company; reports reveal Tencent shuts down TiMi Montreal studio...
米兰冬奥闭幕式今夜登场 冰雪盛宴落幕维罗纳
mǐ lán dōng ào bì mù shì jīn yè dēng chǎng bīng xuě shèng yàn luò mù wéi luó nà
The Milan Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony Takes Center Stage Tonight The Ice and Snow Extravaganza Draws to a Close in Verona
摩根大通“1原因”关闭川普银行帐户
mó gēn dà tōng yuán yīn guān bì chuān pǔ yín háng zhàng hù
JPMorgan Chase Closes Trump's Bank Account for "One Reason"
日本倒闭潮创纪录! 124公司“没人上班”直接破...
rì běn dǎo bì cháo chuàng jì lù ! gōng sī méi rén shàng bān zhí jiē pò . . .
Japan's Bankruptcies Hit Record High! 124 Companies Shut Down Overnight Due to Staff Shortages...
2026年米兰-科尔蒂纳冬奥会闭幕式正式开始
nián mǐ lán kē ěr dì nà dōng ào huì bì mù shì zhèng shì kāi shǐ
The Closing Ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina officially begins
疫苗不会导致自闭症。
Yìmiáo bùhuì dǎozhì zìbìzhèng.
Vaccines don't cause autism.
因为窗帘闭上了，所以无法望进里面。
Yīnwèi chuānglián bìshang le, suǒyǐ wúfǎ wàng jìn lǐ miàn.
I can't see in because the curtains are closed.
老人闭上双眼，在长凳上坐着。
Lǎorén bìshang shuāngyǎn, zài chángdèng shàng zuò zhe.
The old man sat on the bench with his eyes closed.
Character Family
门 Radical Family — Characters sharing the gate radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 闭 (bì) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 闭 and 展?
How many strokes does 闭 have?
What is the radical of 闭?
What are the components of 闭?
What are common words containing 闭?
What characters sound the same as 闭 (bì)?
Is 闭 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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