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堵车 (dǔ chē) — to be stuck in traffic; to have a traffic jam

Definition

堵车 is a separable verb meaning 'to be stuck in traffic.' 堵 alone means 'to block/jam' (used for physical things or feelings); 堵塞 is more formal and written, for pipes, roads, or communication.

verb
to be stuck in trafficto have a traffic jam

Examples

  • 堵车。
    Jīn tiān yòu dǔ chē le.
    There was a traffic jam again today.
  • 。
    Wǒ dǔ le yí gè xiǎo shí de chē.
    I was stuck in traffic for an hour.
  • 堵车，。
    Yīn wèi dǔ chē, wǒ chí dào le.
    Because of a traffic jam, I was late.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

堵dǔblock
车chēvehicle

堵 means block, 车 means vehicle, so together they mean vehicles are blocked.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě堵dǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

堵 combines 土, showing earth, with 者, which gives the sound.

Open 堵 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 車; 车 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 車 was drawn as a carriage seen from above, with wheels on both sides and a shaft at the front; the simplified 车 is a later shorthand.

Open 车 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 4Roads & Traffic

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