卡壳 (qiǎ ké) — 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 qiǎ ké 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 qiǎ ké le, dǎ bù chū qù.
    The gun jammed and won't fire.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

卡kǎjam
壳késhell

卡 points to jamming or getting stuck, and 壳 points to a shell, together yielding a jammed shell.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 殼; 壳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
几几jǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
㱿
㱿㱿殼ké(r)
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 殼 is built from 几 (the meaning part) and 㱿 (the sound part); the simplified 壳 is a later shorthand.

Open 壳 →

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