滞 (zhì) - Stagnant — refers to being blocked, sluggish, or & used to describe traffic, water, business, or thinking.

滞Tone 4

zhì ｜ 12 strokes ｜ radical:

志

滞 · zhì

Stagnant — refers to being blocked, sluggish, or not flowing smoothly;

used to describe traffic, water, business, or thinking.

Stagnant — refers to being blocked, sluggish, orused to describe traffic, water, business, or thinking.

Usage highlights

StagnationCongestionStagnant waterStagnant thinkingStagnant salesDelay

Synonyms

  • 停— stop, halt
  • 堵— block, clog
  • 塞— block up, stuff

Antonyms

  • 流— flow, stream
  • 通— open, through, unimpeded
  • 畅— smooth, fluent

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The traffic is congested (交通滞塞).
  • Stagnant water breeds mosquitoes (滞水).
  • His thinking is rigid (思维滞涩).
  • Goods are stuck in the warehouse (货物滞留在仓库).

Collocations

  • Stagnation(停滞)
  • Congestion(滞塞)
  • Stagnant water(滞水)
  • Stagnant thinking(滞涩)
  • Stagnant sales(滞销)
  • Delay(滞留)

Idioms

  • Stagnant and blocked(停滞阻塞)
  • Stagnant and dull(滞滞泥泥)
  • Stagnant and not smooth(滞涩不畅)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • In traditional Chinese medicine, 'stagnation' (滞) refers to blocked qi or blood flow, seen as a cause of illness.
  • In business contexts, '滞销' describes unsold goods, reflecting economic concerns about market flow.
  • The character embodies the negative cultural valuation of obstruction versus the positive value of smooth flow.

FAQ