Chinese word

堵塞

Pronunciation

Pinyindǔ sè

Meaning

  • nounblockage

Example

下水道的堵塞需要立即清理。xià shuǐ dào de dǔ sè xū yào lì jí qīng lǐ

The blockage in the sewer needs to be cleared immediately.

Illustration for 堵塞 (blockage)

More examples

早高峰时段，市中心的交通堵塞十分严重。zǎo gāo fēng shí duàn shì zhōng xīn de jiāo tōng dǔ sè shí fēn yán zhòng

During morning rush hour, traffic congestion downtown is very severe.

Core concept

Something fills or closes a passage, holding back whatever should move through it and causing a buildup or pause.

Common phrases

  • 交通堵塞jiāo tōng dǔ sè

    traffic congestion

  • 下水道堵塞xià shuǐ dào dǔ sè

    sewer blockage

  • 血管堵塞xuè guǎn dǔ sè

    blood vessel blockage

Similar words

阻塞zǔ sè: An obstruction in a passage or pipe that holds back movement or flow.
拥堵yōng dǔ: Heavy congestion caused by many people or vehicles gathering and moving very slowly.
堵车dǔ chē: A line of cars stopped on a road because there are too many vehicles.

Definition in Chinese

表示物体或现象阻止正常通行或流动，造成积聚或停顿的状态或其原因物。biǎo shì wù tǐ huò xiàn xiàng zú zhǐ zhèng cháng tōng xíng huò liú dòng zào chéng jī jù huò tíng dùn de zhuàng tài huò qí yuán yīn wù

Word origin

堵塞 (dǔsè, "blockage") joins 堵 (dǔ, "to block") and 塞 (sè, "to stop up"), with both parts reinforcing the idea of stopping a route by filling or plugging it.

Usage tips

  • A road setting makes the meaning about vehicles, while a pipe or drain setting makes it about a flow, so the surrounding noun often identifies the intended sense quickly.

Other meanings

  • blockverb
  • traffic jamnoun

Word lists with this word