弄僵 (nòng jiāng) — to bring to a deadlock, to cause a stalemate

Definition

A colloquial verb meaning 'to deadlock / to freeze (a situation or relationship).' Used in a 把 construction (把…弄僵) when one side's action causes the stalemate.

verb
to bring to a deadlockto cause a stalemate

Examples

  • ，弄僵。
    Tán pàn shuāng fāng dōu bú ràng bù, zuì hòu bǎ jú miàn nòng jiāng le.
    Neither side in the negotiations would give in, and in the end they brought the situation to a deadlock.
  • ，弄僵。
    Tā shuō huà tài chōng, yí xià zi jiù bǎ guān xì nòng jiāng le.
    He spoke too bluntly and instantly froze the relationship.
  • ，。
    Běn lái kě yǐ hé zuò de, jié guǒ yīn wèi yí gè xiǎo wèn tí nòng dé hěn jiāng.
    We could have cooperated, but in the end a small issue made things very tense.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

弄nòngmake
僵jiāngstiff

“弄” means make and “僵” means stiff; together they describe making a situation stiff into a deadlock.

Characters in this word

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

The form 弄 combines 玉 (jade) with 廾 (hands), showing hands touching or handling jade.

Open 弄 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 僵 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.