门槛 ménkǎn doorstep
doorstep; sill; threshold; figuratively knack or trick (especially scheme to get something cheaper)
How to remember 门槛: 门 door + 槛 threshold = doorstep.
Characters
How it is used
- Literally 'threshold, doorsill', very common figuratively 'a barrier to entry, requirement' - 提高门槛 (tígāo ménkǎn) raise the bar; 入行门槛低 (rùháng ménkǎn dī) low barrier to enter the field.
- The figurative sense dominates modern use: the qualifications/cost needed to get into something.
- Also colloquial 门槛精 (dialectal, shrewd). Note 槛 read kǎn here.