About
The character 塞, whose traditional form retains the same structure, originated from a pictographic concept of obstruction, constructed from components representing a roof (宀), two hands (丿), and earth (土) to depict the act of filling or blocking an opening with earth and stones. Its core meaning has consistently centered on the idea of stopping up or plugging, as in blocking a passage, which naturally extended to signify a strategically blocked or fortified place, hence a frontier pass or fortress. Over time, this concrete notion of a blocking point was abstracted into verbal uses meaning to fill in or cram, and further into the adjectival sense of being impassable or congested, demonstrating how its semantic field expanded from physical barriers to encompass various states of obstruction and fullness.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
我的书包塞满了书。
路上塞车了。
他把袜子塞进鞋里。
这个箱子塞不下更多东西。
边塞地区风景壮丽。
他塞给我一张纸条。
管道被杂物塞住了。
在表格里塞入太多信息会显得混乱。