封锁 (fēng suǒ) — to blockade, to seal off; to lock down | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

封锁 (fēngsuǒ) is a formal verb for an authority blockading a border/area or locking down a community. Stronger and more official than 封闭 (close a place), and wider in scope than 锁 (lock an object).

verb

to blockadeto seal offto lock down

Examples

，封锁。
Yì qíng shí qī, zhèng fǔ jué dìng fēng suǒ zhěng gè shè qū.
During the pandemic, the government decided to lock down the entire community.
封锁，。
Jūn duì fēng suǒ le biān jìng, fáng zhǐ zǒu sī.
The army blockaded the border to prevent smuggling.
封锁，。
Jǐng chá fēng suǒ le fàn zuì xiàn chǎng, bú ràng rèn hé rén jìn rù.
The police sealed off the crime scene, not allowing anyone to enter.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

封 'seal' and 锁 'lock' combine to mean seal off and lock down.

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.

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 鎖; 锁 is its simplified writing.

金𧴪鎖

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal

Sound part声符shēngfú

𧴪

𧴪𧴪鎖suǒ

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鎖 pairs 金 (metal) with a sound component, 𧴪; the simplified 锁 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the original parts.

Appears in

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