堵 meaning and stroke order
To block up (a road, pipe etc); to stop up (a hole); (fig.) (of a person) choked up with anxiety or stress
How to write 堵, stroke by stroke
11 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 堵
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to block up (a road, pipe etc)
- to stop up (a hole)
- (fig.) (of a person) choked up with anxiety or stress
- wall (literary)
- (classifier for walls)
How 堵 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Earth.
土 gives the meaning and 者 hints at the sound.
Radical: 土 (soil), shared by 183 characters on this site.
How to remember 堵
堵 is built from 土 (tǔ, earth) on the left and 者 (zhě) on the right, which gives the sound. Picture someone piling up earth to make a wall that blocks the way.
堵 (dǔ) is most often used for blocked roads, pipes, or holes, and it also describes feeling choked up inside. The everyday word 堵车 (dǔchē) means a traffic jam. 今天路上很堵。(Jīntiān lù shang hěn dǔ.) The roads are really jammed today.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 堵 (dǔ, to block) with 赌 (dǔ, to gamble). They sound identical, but 赌 has 贝 (money) on the left, while 堵 has 土 (earth).
Common words with 堵
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
堵 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 堵
How many strokes are in 堵?
堵 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 堵 mean?
堵 (dǔ) means to block up (a road, pipe etc); to stop up (a hole); (fig.) (of a person) choked up with anxiety or stress. A common word with it is 堵车 (dǔchē), meaning "traffic jam; (of traffic) to get congested".
How do you pronounce 堵?
堵 is pronounced dǔ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 堵?
The radical of 堵 is 土, which carries the idea of "soil". Dictionaries list 堵 under this radical.
Is 堵 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 堵 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
How do I say I feel stressed or upset using 堵?
You can say 心里很堵 (xīnli hěn dǔ) or 心里堵得慌 (xīnli dǔ de huang). Both mean you feel choked up or weighed down inside, like something is blocking your chest.
What is the difference between 堵住 and 堵塞?
堵住 (dǔzhù) is a verb plus result, meaning to block something off completely, like 堵住门口 (block the doorway). 堵塞 (dǔsè) sounds more formal and often describes a clog or blockage in pipes, blood vessels, or traffic.