闸

閘
zhá
#3,274 most
frequent character
sluice, sluice gate, to dam up water

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

闸 pairs 门 door with 甲 jiǎ as the sound part, though the sound link is not clear in Mandarin. It first meant a lock gate for controlling water levels. The meaning grew to car brake and electric switch.

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Same Characters, Different Readings

闸zhá
sluice, lock (on waterway)

Homophones

炸zhá
to deep fry, (coll.) to blanch (a vegetable)
扎zhá
used in 掙扎|挣扎[zheng1zha2]

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