关上
guān shàng · HSK 1
to close
🚪 关 (close/shut) + 上 (up/on) = shut up — close a door or switch off
关 means to shut or close; 上 here works as a resultative complement marking completion. Together 关上 = close it shut. Also used for turning off lights or appliances, since flipping a switch closes the circuit's open state.
关 — door 门 + simplified 关 inside
关 is the simplified form of 關. The traditional character showed a gate (門) with a bolt or crossbar inside, depicting a barred door — hence 'to close' or 'shut'. Meaning later extended to 'pass' (a guarded gate), 'barrier', and figuratively 'concern' or 'connection'.
上 — horizontal line above a baseline
上 is an indicative character (指事): a short stroke placed above a longer reference line shows the concept of 'above' or 'up'. The earliest oracle-bone forms used two horizontal lines for this; the modern shape added a vertical stroke for clarity. The core meaning of 'upper, above, to ascend' has stayed stable for millennia.