关 (guān) is the "off / shut" half of Chinese's most useful antonym pair, 开 / 关 (kāi / guān) "open / close." That single pair does the work of many English verbs: you 关 a door, a window, a light, a phone, an app, and a TV — where English switches between "close," "turn off," and "shut." The character's second life is abstract: from "shut behind a gate" comes the idea of a connection, a barrier crossed, a boundary that matters — and that gives you 关心 "care about," 关系 "relationship," 关于 "about," and the everyday 没关系 "never mind." Feel the "shut / connect at a gate" core and the two families hold together.
Sense 1: close, shut, turn off
The concrete sense, and the direct opposite of 开 (kāi). Physical things get shut (关门, 关窗户); powered things get turned off (关灯, 关机, 关电视, 关空调).
走的时候记得关灯、关门。
zǒu de shíhou jìde guān dēng, guān mén
Remember to turn off the light and close the door when you leave.
太吵了，把窗户关上吧。
tài chǎo le, bǎ chuānghu guān shàng ba
It's too noisy — close the window.
上课前请把手机关机。
shàng kè qián qǐng bǎ shǒujī guān jī
Please switch off your phone before class.
The 开/关 contrast shows cleanly with the durative 着:
空调开着还是关着？我有点儿冷。
kōngtiáo kāi zhe háishi guān zhe? wǒ yǒudiǎnr lěng
Is the AC on or off? I'm a little cold.
Sense 2: concern, be about, relationship
The abstract family, all built on "connection." 关心 (guānxīn) "care about" (literally "connect the heart"), 关系 (guānxi) "relationship, connection," 关于 (guānyú) "about, regarding," and the reassuring 没关系 (méi guānxi) "it doesn't matter / no relationship here to worry about."
他很关心家里的老人，每周都打电话。
tā hěn guānxīn jiā lǐ de lǎorén, měi zhōu dōu dǎ diànhuà
He cares a lot about the elderly at home — he calls every week.
没关系，这不是你的错。
méi guānxi, zhè bú shì nǐ de cuò
It's okay — it's not your fault.
这是一本关于中国历史的书。
zhè shì yì běn guānyú Zhōngguó lìshǐ de shū
This is a book about Chinese history.
这件事跟你没关系，你别担心。
zhè jiàn shì gēn nǐ méi guānxi, nǐ bié dānxīn
This has nothing to do with you — don't worry.
Sense 3: shut in, confine
"Shut" applied to a living thing means to pen it up / lock it away — 关在 (confine at), 关起来 (shut up, lock up).
别把小狗关在阳台上，太可怜了。
bié bǎ xiǎo gǒu guān zài yángtái shàng, tài kělián le
Don't coop the puppy up on the balcony — poor thing.
那个小偷被警察关起来了。
nàge xiǎotōu bèi jǐngchá guān qǐlái le
The thief was locked up by the police.
Key collocations
| Phrase | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 关门 | guān mén | close the door; (shop) close / shut down |
| 关灯 | guān dēng | turn off the light |
| 关机 | guān jī | switch off (a device) |
| 关上 | guān shàng | close (completed) |
| 关心 | guānxīn | care about, be concerned for |
| 关系 | guānxi | relationship, connection |
| 关于 | guānyú | about, regarding |
| 没关系 | méi guānxi | it doesn't matter, no problem |
| 关注 | guānzhù | follow, pay attention to |
| 关起来 | guān qǐlái | shut / lock up, confine |
Grammar notes
Lock in the pair: 开 turns things on/open, 关 turns them off/shut — and it covers electronics, so "turn off the TV" is 关电视, not a "turn"-type verb. Compare the full range of 开 (kāi) — open / operate / drive. The resultative 关上 marks a completed close; the directional 关起来 means "confine."
关于 "about / regarding" behaves like a topic-marking coverb related to 对于 — it opens a topic phrase and usually sits at the front, so it patterns with the 对 / 对于 "regarding" family, not with a post-verbal English "about." For the emotional side, keep three verbs apart: 关心 (care about a person's wellbeing), 关注 (follow / track a topic or news), and 担心 (worry). 关心 sits near 爱 (ài) "love" on the affection scale — warmer than 关注, gentler than 爱.
Common Mistakes
1. Using bare 关 for "care about." "Care about" is the two-syllable 关心, and it needs an object.
❌ 我很关你。
Incorrect — 'care about' is 关心 + object, not bare 关.
✅ 我很关心你。
wǒ hěn guānxīn nǐ
I care about you very much.
2. Picking the wrong member of the 开 / 关 pair. To switch a device off is 关, not 开.
❌ 我要睡觉了，请开电视。
Incorrect — 开 turns it ON; to turn the TV off, use 关.
✅ 我要睡觉了，请关电视。
wǒ yào shuì jiào le, qǐng guān diànshì
I'm going to sleep — please turn off the TV.
3. Stranding 关于 after a verb like English "about." 关于 heads a topic phrase up front; it can't trail a verb.
❌ 我想说关于这件事。
Incorrect — 关于 opens the topic; it doesn't follow the verb like English 'about'.
✅ 关于这件事，我想说几句。
guānyú zhè jiàn shì, wǒ xiǎng shuō jǐ jù
About this matter, I'd like to say a few words.
4. Confusing 关系 with 关心. "Never mind" is 没关系 (no relationship at stake), not 没关心.
❌ 迟到几分钟，没关心。
Incorrect — 'it doesn't matter' is 没关系, not 没关心.
✅ 迟到几分钟，没关系。
chídào jǐ fēnzhōng, méi guānxi
A few minutes late — it's no problem.
Key Takeaways
- 关 is the "off / shut" half of 开 / 关, and it covers devices too: 关灯, 关机, 关电视 — no "turn" verb needed.
- The abstract family all means "connection": 关心 (care about), 关系 (relationship), 关于 (about), 没关系 (never mind).
- 关于 opens a topic phrase up front — it never trails the verb like English "about."
- Keep 关心 (care for a person) apart from 关注 (follow a topic) and 没关系 (never mind) from 没关心.
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Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
- 开 (kāi) — open / drive / turn on / startHSK 1 — 开 (kāi) opens things (开门), switches devices on (开灯, 开空调), operates vehicles (开车, 开飞机), starts events (开会, 开始), and even makes flowers bloom (花开了). Its opposite for doors and appliances is 关 (guān), and as a complement it means 'apart / open' (打开, 分开).
- 爱 (ài) — to loveHSK 1 — 爱 (ài) 'to love' takes a direct object with no preposition (我爱你), also means 'to love doing / be fond of' before a verb (他爱开玩笑), and 'to be prone to' for tendencies (这种花爱生虫). For casual liking of things and activities, Chinese usually prefers 喜欢 — 爱 is deeper and rarer, so 我爱这个电影 sounds overblown.
- 对 (duì) — be right / toward / a pairHSK 1 — 对 (duì) does three jobs: the stative 'correct/right' (你说得对), the coverb 'toward / to / regarding' that sits BEFORE the verb (对我很好, 对历史感兴趣), and the measure word for 'a pair' (一对).