封路 (fēng lù) — to close a road; road closure

Definition

封路 means to close off or block a road to traffic, usually temporarily (construction, events, weather). Distinct from 关闭 (close a door/building/business) — 封路 is specifically for roads and implies blocking access along a route.

verb
to close a roadroad closure
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，封路。
    Qián fāng shī gōng, fēng lù sān tiān.
    Construction ahead; the road will be closed for three days.
  • ，封路。
    Yīn wèi mǎ lā sōng bǐ sài, zhǔ chéng qū bù fen dào lù huì lín shí fēng lù.
    Because of the marathon, some roads in the main urban area will be temporarily closed.
  • ，封路。
    Zuó wǎn xià dà xuě, gāo sù gōng lù yǐ jīng fēng lù le.
    It snowed heavily last night, and the highway has already been closed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

封fēngclose/seal
路lùroad

'封' means to close or seal, and '路' is a road, so the word means to close a road.

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tǔearth
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丰
丰fēng封fēng
Same sound today

The shape 封 is 丰 plus 土 (earth) plus 寸 (hand); 丰 was originally drawn as a tree seedling.

Open 封 →

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
足足zú
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè路lù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

路 combines 足, a foot, with 各, which supplies the sound.

Open 路 →

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