作梗 (zuò gěng) — to obstruct, to create difficulties | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

作梗 means to deliberately obstruct or sabotage, usually from behind the scenes. The 中 in 中作梗 marks the hidden intermediary between the person and the act.

verb

to obstructto create difficulties

Examples

，。
Tā gěi wǒ zuò le yí cì gěng, ràng wǒ de jì huà shī bài le.
He created difficulties for me once, causing my plan to fail.
作梗，。
Tā zǒng shì zài bèi hòu zuò gěng, zhēn ràng rén tǎo yàn.
He's always obstructing behind the scenes — really annoying.
，作梗。
Zhè jiàn shì zhī suǒ yǐ méi chéng gōng, jiù shì yīn wèi yǒu rén cóng zhōng zuò gěng.
This matter didn't succeed precisely because someone obstructed it from within.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

梗gěngobstruction

作 means 'make' or 'do', and 梗 means 'obstruction'; together they suggest making an obstruction, hence creating difficulties.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

亻乍作

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

乍

乍zhà作zuò

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 亻 comes from 人, meaning 'person', and the right side 乍 gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

木更梗

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

更

更gèng梗gěng(r)

Same sound today

梗 has 木 on the left and 更 on the right. The 木 side shows it was a type of plant, while 更 gives the sound.

Appears in

Conflict & Agreement

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.