塞sāi

塞

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Simplified · Today

简体

Simplified Chinese

Simplified and traditional are identical for 塞 (sāi, "to stop up"), a character that literally depicts a hand pressing down earth to block a well — a vivid image of plugging a gap that has served Chinese writing for two millennia. It appears in 塞车 (traffic jam), 堵塞 (to block), and the classical 边塞 (border frontier).

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Shuowen

塞. In oracle bone the character shows a roof-like shelter above a footprint pressed into earth, a scene of trampling soil to block a passage. The composite of roof and foot indicates a barrier, giving rise to the meaning of blocking or filling.

Pinyin

sāi· HSK 2

塞sāi

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin