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卡住 (kǎ zhù) — to jam, to get stuck (mechanically or physically); to catch hold of, to clutch tightly

Definition

Separable verb meaning to jam or get stuck — a machine, a part of the body, or a pipe locks up and can't move. Past/perfective form places 住 after the object: 卡住它 / 它卡住了.

verb
to jamto get stuck (mechanically or physically)to catch hold ofto clutch tightly

Examples

  • 卡住，。
    Shuǐ guǎn bèi zá wù kǎ zhù le, shuǐ liú bù chū lái.
    The pipe is clogged with debris — water can't flow out.
  • 卡住，。
    Tā de shǒu zhǐ bèi mén fèng kǎ zhù le, téng dé zhí jiào.
    His finger got caught in the door crack and he screamed in pain.
  • ，卡住。
    Dǎ yìn jī kǎ zhǐ le, yì zhāng zhǐ kǎ zhù zài chū zhǐ kǒu.
    The printer is jammed — a sheet of paper is stuck at the output slot.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

卡kǎjam
住zhùstay fixed

卡 (jam) and 住 (stay fixed) yield a jam that remains stuck.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

卡 is made from 上 (up) and 下 (down), with their horizontal lines fused, showing something squeezed between above and below.

Open 卡 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
主
主zhǔ住zhù
Same sound today

住 pairs 亻, the person radical (written fully as 人), with 主, which supplies the sound.

Open 住 →
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