卡壳

卡殼

qiǎké

verb #24,526

Meanings

1 to jam (of a gun or mechanism)
2 to get stuck
3 to reach an impasse
4 to freeze up

Characters

to get stuck; to jam (note: pronounced qiǎ in this sense, not kǎ)

shell; casing; hull

Examples

枪突然卡壳了，他无法射击。

Qiāng tūrán qiǎké le, tā wúfǎ shèjī.

The gun suddenly jammed and he couldn't fire.

演讲时他突然卡壳，不知道下面该说什么。

Yǎnjiǎng shí tā tūrán qiǎké, bù zhīdào xiàmiàn gāi shuō shénme.

He suddenly froze up during his speech and didn't know what to say next.

谈判卡壳了，双方无法达成协议。

Tánpàn qiǎké le, shuāngfāng wúfǎ dáchéng xiéyì.

The negotiations stalled and both sides couldn't reach an agreement.

Tips

usage

Originally a firearms term (a cartridge shell getting stuck in the chamber), 卡壳 is now widely used figuratively for any situation that gets stuck — a stalled computer, a halted negotiation, or a speaker who loses their train of thought.

Stroke Order

卡 kǎ

壳 ké