窒

Phono-semantic compound:

穴 (구멍 혈) — semantic component, meaning “hole,” “cavity,” or “opening.”

至 (이를 지) — phonetic component, providing the sound zhì / jil and carrying the sense of “to reach” or “to arrive.”

The combination originally expressed “a hole where reaching or passing is stopped” — that is, a blocked or obstructed passage.

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「窒，塞也。从穴，至聲。」

“窒 means to block or stop up; composed of 穴 (‘hole’) and phonetic 至 (‘reach’).”

Thus the character denotes the inaccessibility of an opening—the state of being stopped before reaching through.

Semantic evolution:

Literal: to block an opening; to stop up (e.g., a hole, pipe, passage).

Physical extension: to be clogged or choked (e.g., breathing, fluid, flow).

Figurative: to hinder progress, expression, or thought (言窒, “speech blocked”).

Scientific (modern): chemical element nitrogen (窒素), so named because it “extinguishes breath.”

窒息 (질식) — suffocation; to choke or be unable to breathe

窒碍 (질애) — hindrance; obstruction

窒滯 (질체) — stagnation; being stuck or sluggish

窒碍難行 (질애난행) — “blocked and hard to proceed”; figurative for obstruction or difficulty

窒素 (질소) — nitrogen (literally “choking element”)

Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典, vol. 1039):

「窒，塞也，閉也，滯也。」

“窒 means to stop up, to close, or to stagnate.”

Book of Rites (禮記 · 曲禮):

「言不窒於口。」

“Let words not be stopped in the mouth” — 窒 here metaphorically refers to mental or verbal blockage.

Zhuangzi (莊子 · 外物):

「心有所窒，則不能通。」

“When the mind is obstructed, it cannot flow freely” — showing its metaphysical extension from physical blockage to spiritual or mental hindrance.

Han Feizi (韓非子 · 五蠹):

「塞其欲，窒其心。」

“Block their desires and stop their hearts” — a moral-political use implying control through restraint.

In Confucian and Daoist discourse, 窒 often denotes the obstruction of moral or spiritual clarity — a heart “stopped up” by desire or ignorance.

In Buddhist commentary, it can symbolize spiritual stagnation, the mind hindered from attaining enlightenment (心有所窒).

In medical and alchemical texts, 窒 describes blockages of qi or breath, linking physical obstruction to imbalance of the vital flow.