门

Door, gate Component (门)

mén · 3 strokes

The door, gate component (门) is a component found in Chinese characters. In Chinese, components serve different roles: semantic elements contribute meaning, phonetic elements suggest pronunciation, and structural elements provide the character's framework. It primarily serves as a semantic element, contributing meaning related to door, gate and associated concepts to the characters where it appears. It typically appears on the outer (enclosing) part of a character. 19 characters: 3 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 4, 2 in HSK 5, 3 in HSK 6, 8 in HSK 7-9. Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.

Radical vs. Component: 门 is also a Kangxi radical (gate). As a radical, it classifies characters in dictionaries. As a component, it appears as a building block contributing meaning, sound, or structure. For radical-specific details, see the Door, gate Radical (门) page.

Door, gate Component at a Glance

Stroke Count3
Total Characters19
Primary RoleSemantic (meaning)
Typical Positionouter (enclosing) part
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (8 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes8
Also a Kangxi Radical?Yes — view radical page

All Door, gate Component Characters

HSK 1 (3 characters)

问wènto ask们menplural marker间jiānroom, between

HSK 3 (1 characters)

闻wénto hear, to smell

HSK 4 (2 characters)

闹nàonoisy阅yuèto read, to review

HSK 5 (2 characters)

闭bìto close闲xiánidle, free

HSK 6 (3 characters)

闪shǎnto flash, to dodge阔kuòwide, broad闯chuǎngto rush

HSK 7-9 (8 characters)

闸zhágate, brake阁gépavilion阀fávalve, clique阐chǎnto explain阎yánhell阂héobstruct闷mēnstuffy闺guīsmall arched door

Frequently Asked Questions

What characters contain the door, gate component (门)?
There are 19 characters containing the door, gate component (门) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 3 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 4, 2 in HSK 5, 3 in HSK 6, 8 in HSK 7-9. The most frequently used include 们 (men, "plural marker"), 间 (jiān, "room, between"), 问 (wèn, "to ask"), 闻 (wén, "to hear, to smell"), 闪 (shǎn, "to flash, to dodge"). Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Is 门 a radical or a component?
门 is both. As a Kangxi radical, 门 (gate) is part of the traditional system of 214 radicals used to classify Chinese characters in dictionaries. As a component, 门 is a building block that contributes meaning, sound, or structure to compound characters. When a character "has the door, gate radical," it means 门 is the character's primary classifier. When a character "contains the door, gate component," it means 门 appears in the character's decomposition, regardless of whether it serves as the primary radical.
What sound does the door, gate component (门) give to characters?
When 门 serves as a phonetic element (in 4 of its 19 characters), it commonly contributes these pronunciation patterns: wen (问, 闻); men (们, 闷). Phonetic components are one of the most powerful tools for reading unfamiliar characters — if you recognize 门 in a new character, there is a good chance the pronunciation is related. Note that tones and initial consonants may vary across characters sharing the same phonetic component.
Where does 门 appear in a character?
The door, gate component (门) most commonly appears on the outer (enclosing) part of a character. Full position breakdown: outer (enclosing) part (18 characters), right side (1 characters). Knowing where a component typically sits helps with character recognition — when you see 门 in its usual position, you can quickly identify it and infer the character's meaning or pronunciation.
What HSK levels include door, gate component characters?
Characters containing the door, gate component (门) appear across 6 HSK levels: 3 in HSK 1, 1 in HSK 3, 2 in HSK 4, 2 in HSK 5, 3 in HSK 6, 8 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 8 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common door, gate-related characters, while advanced levels add specialized or literary terms.

Sources & Standards

Components are identified through structural decomposition analysis of characters in the HSK 3.0 Standard (《国际中文教育中文水平等级标准》), published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 2022 revision. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system (康熙部首).