症结

癥結

zhēngjié

noun HSK 7 #22,426

Meanings

1 crux of an issue; sticking point
2 hard lump in the abdomen (in Chinese medicine)

Characters

disease; ailment

Examples

我们必须找到问题的症结所在。

Wǒmen bìxū zhǎodào wèntí de zhēngjié suǒzài.

We must find the crux of the problem.

谈判的症结在于价格分歧。

Tánpàn de zhēngjié zàiyú jiàgé fēnqí.

The sticking point of the negotiation lies in the price disagreement.

Tips

history

Originally a traditional Chinese medicine term for a hard lump or blockage in the abdomen. It evolved into a metaphor for the core difficulty or blockage in any problem.

Stroke Order

症 zhèng

结 jié