症结 (zhēng jié): hard lump in the abdomen (in Chinese medicine); crux of an issue; main point in an argument; sticking point; deadlock in negotiations

Meaning & Stroke Order

HSK 7noun

Word info

Pinyin
Meaning: hard lump in the abdomen (in Chinese medicine); crux of an issue; main point in an argument; sticking point; deadlock in negotiations
Characters: 2
Part of speech: noun
HSK level: HSK 7

Full definitions

hard lump in the abdomen (in Chinese medicine)
crux of an issue
main point in an argument
sticking point
deadlock in negotiations

Chinese explanation

中医指肚子里能摸到的硬块，多因气血瘀滞等引起
也比喻事情难以解决的关键问题或主要障碍，例如工作中的症结、问题的症结所在。

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Character breakdown

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HSK 6

(of a plant) to produce (fruit or seeds)

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Example sentences

The old Chinese doctor pressed the patient's abdomen and said there was a hard lump here that needed to be dissolved gradually with medicine.

She had suffered from stomach pain for years. After diagnosis, the Chinese medicine doctor told her there was a hard lump in her stomach and suggested she take a decoction to invigorate blood and remove stasis.

The doctor said that this hard lump had been forming for a long time; painkillers alone would not work—it was necessary to regulate qi and blood at the root.

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