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受阻 (shòu zǔ) — to be blocked, to be obstructed (by an obstacle or hindrance)

Definition

A formal verb meaning 'to be blocked or hindered' (by weather, obstacles, or difficulty). Used in writing and reports rather than casual speech — for everyday use, say 堵住 or 受到阻碍.

verb
to be blockedto be obstructed (by an obstacle or hindrance)

Examples

  • ，受阻。
    Yīn wèi dà xuě, gāo sù gōng lù shòu zǔ le.
    Because of heavy snow, the expressway was blocked.
  • ，。
    Tā de jì huà shòu le bù shǎo zǔ, zuì hòu zhǐ néng fàng qì.
    His plan encountered many obstacles, and in the end he had to give up.
  • 受阻，。
    Jiù yuán duì wu yīn è liè tiān qì shòu zǔ, wú fǎ qián jìn.
    The rescue team was hindered by bad weather and couldn't move forward.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

受shòuundergo
阻zǔobstruction

受 means undergo, and 阻 means obstruction; together they describe being blocked.

Characters in this word

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

受 possibly combines 爪 and 又 as hands with 舟 as a boat, to show handing something over.

Open 受 →

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
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
且
且qiě阻zǔ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

阻 is built from 阝 (written in full as 阜) on the left and 且 on the right, which gives the sound.

Open 阻 →
Appears in
Change & Process

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