大门
dàmén · HSK 2
door
🚪 大 (big) + 门 (door/gate) = big door = main entrance
大 means big or grand; 门 is the pictograph of a swinging double door. Together they literally spell out grand-door, used for the main gate of a house, compound, or building.
大 — pictograph of a person with arms outstretched
大 is a pictograph showing a person standing with arms and legs spread wide. The outstretched arms suggest 'big' or 'great', extending from the literal image of a large stance to abstract meanings like important or grand. It is one of the oldest characters, found on oracle bones.
门 — pictograph of double-leaf gate
门 is a pictograph showing a pair of swinging doors hung in a doorway, originally drawn as 門 in oracle-bone script with two clear leaves. The simplified form 门 keeps the same outline with fewer strokes. It still means 'gate' or 'door' and serves as a phonetic in characters like 们, 问, and 闷.