閥 (fá) - Valve — a device for controlling the flow & clique, faction, powerful family or group

閥Tone 2

fá ｜ 14 strokes ｜ radical:

恩丰

閥 · fá

Valve — a device for controlling the flow of fluid or air;

clique, faction, powerful family or group;

in computing, a logic gate.

Valve — a device for controlling the flowclique, faction, powerful family or groupin computing, a logic gate.

Usage highlights

Military cliqueWater valveSafety valveGate valveBall valvePowerful family

Synonyms

Antonyms

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The water valve needs replacement (水阀).
  • He belongs to the military faction (军阀).
  • Check the safety valve (安全阀).
  • Logic gates are fundamental in computing (逻辑阀).

Collocations

  • Military clique(军阀)
  • Water valve(水阀)
  • Safety valve(安全阀)
  • Gate valve(闸阀)
  • Ball valve(球阀)
  • Powerful family(门阀)

Idioms

  • Military clique politics(军阀政治)
  • Financial oligarchy(财阀统治)
  • Powerful family influence(门阀势力)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Historically used to describe powerful military factions during the Warlord Era (1916-1928) in China.
  • Originally referred to influential aristocratic families in medieval China who controlled government positions.
  • In modern usage, often carries negative connotations of cronyism and undue influence.

FAQ