hǎi guān
customs [import/export]
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我在海关工作。
wǒ zài hǎi guān gōng zuò.
I work at the customs.
海关人员检查了我的行李。
hǎi guān rén yuán jiǎn chá le wǒ de xíng lǐ.
The customs officer inspected my luggage.
我必须向海关申报我的物品。
wǒ bì xū xiàng hǎi guān shēn bào wǒ de wù pǐn.
I have to declare my items to the customs.
海关总署 (hǎi guān zǒng shǔ)
General Administration of Customs
关务 (guān wù)
Customs affairs
进口 (jìn kǒu)
import
出口 (chū kǒu)
export
The Chinese word 海关 (hǎiguān) for "customs" is a compound of two characters: 海 (hǎi), meaning "sea", and 关 (guān), meaning "barrier" or "pass". The term 海关 originally referred to the customs barriers set up along the coast of China to regulate trade with foreign countries. These barriers were first established during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and were used to collect taxes on imported goods. Over time, the term 海关 came to be used more broadly to refer to any customs office, regardless of its location.The character 海 (hǎi) is a pictograph that depicts water with waves. The character 关 (guān) is a phonetic loan character that was originally used to represent the word for "to close" or "to shut". The combination of these two characters creates a compound that literally means "sea barrier" or "sea pass". This meaning is appropriate for the term 海关, as customs offices are responsible for regulating the flow of goods and people across borders.
