卡壳 (kǎ) — to jam, to get stuck, to be held up

Definition

Colloquial verb meaning to jam, stall, or get stuck — used for guns, machinery, speeches, or progress hitting a snag. Usually takes the 了 particle (卡了壳) when reporting a specific event.

verb

to jamto get stuckto be held up

Examples

卡壳。
Yǎn jiǎng de shí hou tā yì jǐn zhāng jiù kǎ le.
When giving a speech, he gets stuck as soon as he's nervous.
。
Zhè ge wèn tí ràng tā kǎ le ké.
This problem made him get stuck.
卡壳，。
Qiāng kǎ le, dǎ bù chū qù.
The gun jammed and won't fire.

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