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停滞 (tíng zhì) — to stagnate, to be at a standstill, to bog down

Definition

停滞 describes progress (development, talks, a project) being stuck for a long period. Unlike 停顿 (a brief pause that resumes), 停滞 implies a prolonged, unresolved slowdown. 滞后 is to fall behind a benchmark; 耽搁 is more about causing delay.

verb
to stagnateto be at a standstillto bog down

Examples

  • 停滞。
    Zhè ge chéng shì de fā zhǎn yǐ jīng tíng zhì le.
    The development of this city has stagnated.
  • ，。
    Xiàng mù tíng zhì bù qián, wǒ men xū yào xīn de fāng àn.
    The project is at a standstill; we need a new plan.
  • 停滞，。
    Tán pàn tíng zhì le sān gè yuè, zhōng yú yǒu le jìn zhǎn.
    The negotiations stalled for three months and finally made progress.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

停tíngstop
滞zhìstagnate

停 means stop and 滞 means stagnate; together they describe being at a standstill.

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
亭
亭tíng停tíng
Same sound today

The left side 亻 is a person, and the right side 亭 gives the sound tíng; this forms 停.

Open 停 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 滯; 滞 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
帶
帶dài滯zhì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 滯 combines 水 (water) with 帶, which gives the pronunciation; the simplified 滞 is a later shorthand.

Open 滞 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Change & Process

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