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塞车 (sāi chē) — (v.o.) to be stuck in traffic; to have a traffic jam; (n.) traffic jam

Definition

A verb-object phrase meaning 'to be stuck in traffic' or the resulting 'traffic jam'. Note the colloquial tone: in formal writing, 交通堵塞 is more common.

(v.o.) to be stuck in trafficto have a traffic jam(n.) traffic jam

Examples

  • 塞车，。
    Jīn tiān zǎo shàng yīn wèi sāi chē, wǒ chí dào le.
    I was late this morning because of a traffic jam.
  • 塞车，。
    Qián miàn yǒu yán zhòng de sāi chē, wǒ men huàn tiáo lù ba.
    There's a serious traffic jam ahead; let's take another route.
  • 。
    Zuó tiān zài gāo sù gōng lù shàng sāi le yí gè duō xiǎo shí de chē.
    Yesterday I was stuck in traffic on the expressway for over an hour.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

塞sāiblock
车chēcar

塞 (block) and 车 (car) combine: cars are blocked together, giving a traffic jam.

Characters in this word

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

  • 宀宀miánhouse
  • 工工gōngtwo items
  • 廾廾gǒngtwo hands

塞 combines 宀 (house), 工 (two items), and 廾 (two hands), showing hands stuffing items into a house.

Open 塞 →

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
Roads & Traffic

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