窒 (zhì): to obstruct; to stop up; to blo…

Meanings

浓烟差点让他窒息。

Nóngyān chàdiǎn ràng tā zhìxī.

The thick smoke nearly suffocated him.

僵化的规定窒息了团队的创造力。

Jiānghuà de guīdìng zhìxī le tuánduì de chuàngzàolì.

The rigid rules stifled the team's creativity.

usage

Most common in 窒息 (to suffocate). Used both physically (no air) and figuratively, as in stifling creativity or a tense atmosphere.

radical

穴 xué

cave; hole

The cave radical sits on top; a narrow hole that gets plugged gives the core image of blocking and choking off airflow.

phonetic

至 zhì

to arrive; reach

Supplies the reading zhì; its sense of reaching a limit faintly suits the idea of something stopped up to the point of choking.

窒 zhì