碰壁

pèngbì

verb #29,839

Meanings

1 to hit a wall
2 to be rebuffed
3 to meet with a setback
4 to get the door slammed in your face

Characters

to bump; to collide; to meet

wall; partition

Examples

HSK 7-9

他四处求职，屡屡碰壁。

Tā sìchù qiúzhí, lǚlǚ pèngbì.

He applied for jobs everywhere but kept hitting walls.

HSK 7-9

谈判中我们频频碰壁，毫无进展。

Tánpàn zhōng wǒmen pínpín pèngbì, háowú jìnzhǎn.

We kept hitting dead ends in the negotiations and made no progress.

Tips

memory

碰 (to bump into) + 壁 (wall) = to run smack into a wall. Imagine physically hitting a wall every time you try to move forward - that is exactly the feeling 碰壁 describes.

Stroke Order

碰 pèng

壁 bì