阀 (fá) is a Chinese character meaning “valve (mechanical device controlling flow)”. It is written from 门 (door; gate) and 伐 (to fell; to cut down; to attack), one enclosing the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “valve”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
门 + 伐
Enclosing structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（⿵门伐），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：门 3 画 + 伐 6 画 = 9 画
Memory aid
A gate (门) with a cutter (伐) set inside it: a valve is the gate you shut to cut off the flow. And 伐 fá also hands you the sound — 阀 is read fá.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 阀门fá ménvalve阀 = fá
- 军阀jūn fáwarlord阀 = fá
Go deeper
All readings
valve
valve (mechanical device controlling flow); also a powerful clique or family, as in 军阀 (warlord)
管道或机器上控制流体通断的装置。也指有权势的集团或家族。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 阀门fá ménvalve阀 = fá
- 军阀jūn fáwarlord阀 = fá
Sound component
伐 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 阀 mean?
阀 (fá) means valve (mechanical device controlling flow); also a powerful clique or family, as in 军阀 (warlord).
How do you pronounce 阀?
It is pronounced fá.
What parts is 阀 made of?
门 (door; gate) and 伐 (to fell; to cut down; to attack), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（⿵门伐），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：门 3 画 + 伐 6 画 = 9 画. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 阀 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 阀?
门. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 阀?
Common ones are 阀门 and 军阀. The reading of 阀 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.