防盗门
fáng dào mén · HSK 7
entrance door (for apartment)
🚪🔒 fáng dào mén = guard-against + theft + door
A door whose whole job is blocking thieves. fáng means defend/prevent, dào means steal/rob, mén means door. The name spells out its function: the anti-theft door found at every Chinese apartment entrance.
防 — mound radical 阝(阜) + 方 fāng (phonetic)
防 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left element 阝 (from 阜) depicts a mound or earthen embankment, suggesting barriers and defense. The right element 方 supplies the sound. Together they evoke a dike or rampart that guards against floods or attacks, hence 'to guard, prevent, defend'.
盗 — 次 (drool/desire) + 皿 (dish/vessel)
Originally depicted someone drooling (次, showing saliva 氵 next to a person yawning 欠) over a vessel of food (皿), capturing the idea of coveting what belongs to others. The meaning extended from coveting to stealing, and today 盗 means 'to steal' or 'thief/robber'.
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.