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堵

dǔ
verb HSK 4 #4,112

Meanings

  1. 1 to block; to stop up; to plug
  2. 2 to be stuck (in traffic)
  3. 3 to feel stifled or suffocated

Characters

堵
dǔ
to block; to be stuck in traffic
Contains the earth radical 土, originally referring to a mud wall that blocks passage. 堵车 (traffic jam) is one of the most common modern uses.

Examples

HSK 2
下水道堵了。
Xiàshuǐdào dǔ le.
The drain is blocked.
HSK 5
路上堵得厉害。
Lùshàng dǔ de lìhai.
Traffic is really jammed.
HSK 5
他用手堵住了耳朵。
Tāyòng shǒu dǔzhù le ěrduo.
He blocked his ears with his hands.

Components

radical
土 tǔ
earth; ground
Left earth radical - anchors the original meaning: piling up dirt or stones to wall off a passage. A 堵 was first a section of mud wall, the kind built to dam a stream or block a road. The radical keeps that physical-barrier image even as 堵 expanded to 堵车 traffic jams and clogged drains.
phonetic
者 zhě
one who
Right side 者 supplies the sound - zhě → dǔ via the well-attested zh/d alternation. 者 itself originally pictured sugarcane being burned (土 ground + a fire-stack); only later was it grammaticalised as the agentive 'one who.' Same phonetic in 都 dū (capital), 赌 dǔ (gamble), 睹 dǔ (witness), 暑 shǔ (heat).

Stroke Order

堵 dǔ