guàn

to pierce through

to pass through; to be stringed together; string of 1000 cash

pierce (毌) + shell-money (贝) = coins strung on a cord

贝 depicts a cowrie shell, the ancient currency — so the image is coins strung together on a cord, pierced through. 毌 gives the sound guàn and originally depicted something being pierced, which in this case happens to reinforce the meaning.

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To piercePhonetic
Cowrie shellSemantic

这条路穿整个城市。

zhè tiáo lù guàn chuān zhěng gè chéng shì。

This road passes through the entire city.

一根线把所有的珠子串在一起。

yī gēn xiàn bǎ suǒ yǒu de zhū zi guàn chuàn zài yī qǐ。

A thread strings all the beads together.

Words with 贯

连贯

lián guàn

to link up (disparate elements)

乡贯

xiāng guàn

one's native place

鱼贯

yú guàn

one after the other

鱼贯而入

yú guàn ér rù

to walk in in a line

鱼贯而出

yú guàn ér chū

to file out; to walk out in a line

一以贯之

yī yǐ guàn zhī

(idiom) (of a principle, purpose etc) consistently upheld; adhered to from beginning to end

一贯

yī guàn

consistent

全神贯注

quán shén guàn zhù

(idiom) to concentrate one's attention completely; with rapt attention

大满贯

dà mǎn guàn

grand slam

如雷贯耳

rú léi guàn ěr

lit. like thunder piercing the ear

家赀万贯

jiā zī wàn guàn

immensely rich

恶贯满盈

è guàn mǎn yíng

lit. strung through and filled with evil (idiom); filled with extreme evil